Andrew P. W. Bennett is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

public intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

. He was the first and only Canadian Ambassador for Religious Freedom, as the head of the Office of Religious Freedom, from the office's formation in 2013 to its closure in 2016.

Early life

He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in History from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

in 1995, a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in History from

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in 1997, and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Politics from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in 2002. He is a member of the clergy in the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church and serves as a

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian-Catholic Shrine in Ottawa. He is the past Vice-President and Chairman of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute Foundation.

Career

Before being appointed to lead Canada's Office of Religious Freedom on February 19, 2013, Andrew Bennett worked for the Privy Council Office, Export Development Canada and Natural Resources Canada in a variety of analytical, research, and corporate roles. He has also held roles as

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

and Dean at Augustine College in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

, as a Scholar Expert on the Americas Desk with

Oxford Analytica Oxford Analytica is an international consulting firm providing strategic analysis of world events. It was founded in 1975 by David Young, an American employee of the National Security Council during the Nixon administration. Clients of Oxford A ...

and as a Researcher with the

's Institute on Governance where he focused on the process of

devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He currently is a Senior Fellow at Cardus, a Canadian faith-based think-tank as well as the Chair of the Cabinet of Canadians, an element of Faith in Canada 150 -a signature initiative of Cardus that seeks to emphasise the importance of religious faith in the lives of Canadians today and indeed throughout Canadian history as Canada marks its 150th birthday in 2017.faithincanada150.ca,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Andrew 1972 births Living people 21st-century Canadian civil servants Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Canadian federal civil servants Dalhousie University alumni McGill University alumni Canadian members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Academics from Toronto