Distinguished Canadian Annual Address 2007

Lieutenant General the Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire, O.C., C.M.M., G.O.C, M.S.C., C.D., (Retired), Senator

Why the Middle Powers Are Letting Down the Super Power

Lieutenant General the Honourable Roméo A. Dallaire, (Ret'd), Senator, was born in Denekamp, Holland and enrolled in the Canadian Army in 1964 after four years in the Cadets and the Reserves Force.

 He has had a distinguished career in the Canadian military, achieving the rank of Lieutenant General and becoming Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources) in the Department of National Defence in 1998. In 1994, General Dallaire commanded the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). His book on his experiences in Rwanda, entitled Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda, was awarded the Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction in 2004.
 

Since his retirement from the military, Senator Dallaire has worked to bring an understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder to the general public. He has also been a visiting lecturer at several Canadian and American universities, and has written several articles and chapters in publications on conflict resolution, humanitarian assistance and human rights. As a Fellow of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, he pursued research on conflict resolution and the use of child soldiers.
 

LGen. Dallaire (Ret'd) was appointed to the Senate effective March 24, 2005 and sits in the Senate as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada.  He is also a member of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights.