Daniel Jean was the

National Security Advisor A national security advisor serves as the chief advisor to a national government on matters of security. The advisor is not usually a member of the government's cabinet but is usually a member of various military or security councils. National sec ...

to the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau from May 2016 until May 2018.

Education

Jean possesses a

Bachelor of Social Sciences The academic undergraduate degree of Bachelor of Social Science (BSS, B.Soc.Sc., or B.Soc.Sci.) requires three to four years of study in the social sciences at an institution of higher education, primarily found in the Commonwealth of Nations. I ...

, International Relations and Economics, from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Business Administration from the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

Biography

Jean began his career in Canadian government in 1983 and has held various positions since then, including Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. While he was Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2015, Jean was seen to urge government to sign an extradition treaty with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

National Security Advisor

Jean became the National Security Advisor (Canada) to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in May 2016, after

Richard Fadden Richard Brian Marcel Fadden, OC (known as Dick Fadden; born September 1951) is a Canadian former civil servant who was the National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada and an Associate Secretary to the Cabinet. He retired from that p ...

retired from the position. Several months after his appointment, Jean went to Beijing to talk about an extradition treaty and a "transfer of offenders" treaty. He assisted in the release of Hyeon Soo Lim from North Korea.

Resignation

Jean attracted controversy in 2018 when he gave a briefing to journalists on Justin Trudeau's trip to India, in which Jaspal Atwal was invited to an event at the Canadian embassy. Atwal is a Canadian of Indian descent to was convicted of the attempted murder of

Malkiat Singh Sidhu Malkiat Singh Sidhu (died 27 April 1991) was the former Planning Minister of Punjab, India. He was a member of the Akali Dal political party. In 1986, he was named Minister of State. On 25 May 1986, he was ambushed by four Sikhs who learned h ...

in 1986. Jean claimed that the briefing was designed to "counter a false narrative" that CSIS, the RCMP, and the High Commission to India knew of Atwal's invitation in advance but did nothing. Following the briefing, several media outlets reported that a senior official had alleged that Atwal's presence was the result of a concerted effort to embarrass the Canadian government. The briefing drew criticism from some, including Conservative MP Glen Motz for raising "the conspiracy theory of rogue Indian elements" rather than accepting responsibility for Atwal's invitation. Within 24 hours, Surrey Centre Liberal MP Randeep Sarai said that he had secured Atwal's invitation, thus giving the lie to Jean, who announced that he would retire as national security advisor in April 2018, stepping down officially on May 22.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Ottawa alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Canadian civil servants Canadian political consultants {{Canada-gov-bio-stub