By Anne Craig, Communications Officer

André Juneau, the director of the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations at Queen’s University’s since March 2010, has been selected as the president-elect of the Institute of Public Administration (IPAC). IPAC is a Canadian organization dedicated to the promotion of excellence in public service.

“Before taking over the Institute of Intergovernmental Relations in 2010, I spent 35 years in the federal government, many of them in positions directly involved in how the government works, such as budget-making and priority-setting, horizontal coordination,  cabinet operations and intergovernmental relations,” says Mr. Juneau. “I was, and still am, deeply committed to a non-partisan public service. Therefore I believe that I can contribute to an understanding of public administration and I can promote public service values at a time when they are under challenge.”

Mr. Juneau’s career in Canada’s public service began in 1975 in the Department of Finance. In 985, he joined the Priorities and Planning Secretariat of the Privy Council Office (PCO). From 1985 to 1998, he held senior policy positions in the labour market area, immigration and health.

Mr. Juneau returned to the PCO in 1998 as deputy secretary for intergovernmental relations. The Prime Minister then appointed him deputy secretary to the cabinet for operations in 2001.

In July of 2002, Mr. Juneau was appointed as the first deputy minister of Infrastructure Canada with a mandate to create a new federal department. From 2006 to 2009, he served as the full-time  director for Canada and Morocco on the board of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London (United Kingdom).

“The nominating committee was interested in promoting my selection for various reasons. Having been in government and now heading a university research institute, I can bridge a well-known and unfortunate gap between public administration and academics. Good public administration should be important to the public.”