Andromache Karakatsanis (born October 3, 1955) is a Canadian jurist. She was nominated to the Supreme Court of Canada by Stephen Harper in October 2011. She is the first Greek-Canadian judge on the Court.

Early life

Karakatsanis was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, to Greek parents, and raised with an emphasis on her Greek heritage. She grew up near the Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue area of

, where her parents owned a restaurant called Top of the Mall which was where Karakatsanis worked as a hostess and helped her father manage the restaurant. She attended Victoria College at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

, graduating with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in English literature in 1977. She then attended

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the '' Osgoode Hall L ...

, receiving her

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1980. She was called to the Ontario bar in 1982.

Career

After her call to the bar, Karakatsanis clerked for the judges of the Ontario Court of Appeal from 1982–1983, after which she entered private practice. In 1987, Karakatsanis was appointed to the

Liquor Licensing Board of Ontario Liquor Licence Board of Ontario was the regulatory agency responsible for issuing liquor permits and regulating the sale, service and consumption of alcoholic beverages to promote moderation and responsible use in Ontario. The agency was in ope ...

as Vice-Chair, becoming Chair and CEO the following year. She held that position until her 1995 appointment as Assistant Deputy Attorney General and Secretary of the Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat. Karakatsanis was named

Deputy Attorney General The Deputy Attorney General (DAG) is the second-highest-ranking official in a department of justice or of law, in various governments of the world. In those governments, the deputy attorney general oversees the day-to-day operation of the departme ...

for the province of Ontario in 1997, and she became

Secretary of the Cabinet The Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Cabinet Office, known informally as the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary, is the second-most senior civil servant of the Cabinet Office. It was conventionally joined with the positions of Cabinet Se ...

and Clerk of the Executive Council of the Government of Ontario in 2000. Karakatsanis's judicial career began when she was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in December 2002, where she developed an expertise in

administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regulations"), ad ...

. She was subsequently elevated to the Ontario Court of Appeal on March 26, 2010, where she served for 19 months prior to her appointment to the Supreme Court.

Honours

In 2015, she was made a Grand Commander of the Order of Honour by the Government of Greece.

Personal life

Karakatsanis is fluent in English, French and Greek. She is married to former lawyer Tom Karvanis, who lives with multiple sclerosis, and has two children: Paul Karvanis, who is counsel at

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

, and Rhea Karvanis, a graduate of the University of Toronto law school.

References

External links