Julie Payette, Canadian engineer and astronaut
Julie Payette (French pronunciation: [ʒyli pajɛt]; born October 20, 1963) is a Canadian engineer, scientist and former astronaut who served from 2017 to 2021 as Governor General of Canada, the 29th since Canadian Confederation.Payette holds engineering degrees from McGill University and the University of Toronto. She worked as a research scientist before joining the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) in 1992 as a member of the Canadian Astronaut Corps. She completed two spaceflights, STS-96 and STS-127, and has logged more than 25 days in space. She also served as capsule communicator at NASA Mission Control Center in Houston and from 2000 to 2007 as CSA's chief astronaut.
In July 2013, Payette was named chief operating officer for the Montreal Science Centre. She also held a number of board appointments, including the National Bank of Canada. On July 13, 2017, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Queen Elizabeth II had approved the appointment of Payette as the next governor general of Canada. She was invested on October 2, 2017.Payette resigned on January 21, 2021, following the conclusion of a workplace review that found she had "belittled, berated and publicly humiliated Rideau Hall staff" and "created a toxic, verbally abusive workplace". The review was initiated by the Privy Council Office to investigate accusations of harassment of civil servants in the Office of the Governor General. She is the second governor general to have resigned the office, after Roméo LeBlanc (who resigned due to health issues), the first to resign due to scandal, and the first to have left a vacancy upon resignation.
1963Oct, 20
Julie Payette
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Events on 1963
- 8Jan
Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. - 8Feb
John F. Kennedy
Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration. - 21Apr
Bahá'í Faith
The first election of the Universal House of Justice is held, marking its establishment as the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. - 7Oct
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
John F. Kennedy signs the ratification of the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. - 22Nov
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
U.S. President John F. Kennedy is assassinated and Texas Governor John Connally is seriously wounded by Lee Harvey Oswald