Andrew Leslie (general)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
The Honourable
Andrew Leslie
CMM MSC MSM CD PC MP
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Orléans
Assumed office
October 19, 2015
Preceded by Royal Galipeau
Chief Government Whip
Assumed office
November 20, 2015
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Preceded by John Duncan
Personal details
Born Andrew Brooke Leslie
(1957-12-26) December 26, 1957 (age 58)
Ottawa, Ontario
Political party Liberal
Awards Commander of the Order of Military Merit
Meritorious Service Cross
Meritorious Service Medal
Canadian Forces Decoration
Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland[1]
Military service
Allegiance  Canada
Service/branch Canadian Army
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group
Chief of the Land Staff
Battles/wars War in Afghanistan

The Honourable Andrew Brooke Leslie, CMM, MSC, MSM, CD, PC MP (born December 26, 1957) is a retired Canadian Forces Lieutenant-General who served as Chief of Transformation and earlier as Chief of the Land Staff. He is the incumbent Member of Parliament for the riding of Orléans, after being elected in the October 19, 2015, federal election.

Background[edit]

Andrew Leslie was born in Ottawa[2] in 1957. His father was Brigadier General Edward Murray Dalziel Leslie (né McNaughton), commander of 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1 RCHA) during the Korean War.[3] Leslie's father changed the family name from McNaughton to Leslie in order to comply with the terms of an inheritance. His paternal grandfather is former Chief of the General Staff and Minister of National Defence General Andrew McNaughton, as well as of former Canadian Minister of National Defence Brooke Claxton.[4]

Military career[edit]

Leslie joined the 30th Field Regiment when at University of Ottawa.[5] He went on to be Commanding Officer of 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery in Shilo, Manitoba.[5] While in London, England, as a graduate student he was attached to the Honourable Artillery Company.[6]

Yugoslavia[edit]

In 1995 he was promoted to Colonel and sent to the Former Yugoslavia as Chief of Staff for Sector South.[5] He then became the Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia.[5] Leslie was called to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (The Hague) as a witness in the war crimes trial of Croatian general Ante Gotovina. Leslie, an artillery officer, testified to indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas by Croatian forces in August 1995,[7] a conclusion rejected by both the appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Gotovina case and the International Court of Justice in the Croatia–Serbia genocide case.[8] During the attack of the Croatian forces on the Serbian held Krajina region, he was credited with leading an operation which resulted in saving lives of 40 Serbian civilians.[9][10]

Manitoba floods[edit]

He was the Area Chief of Staff during the Manitoba floods in Spring 1997.[5] Later in 1997 he became the commander of 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group which was sent to the South shore of Montreal to help with disaster relief operations.[5] In 2000 he was given responsibility for communications in the Canadian Forces and in 2002 he became the commander of Land Force Central Area.[5] He became Deputy Commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in 2003 and then became Assistant Chief of the Land Staff in 2004.[5] In June 2006 he was appointed Chief of the Land Staff.[11]

Chief of Transformation[edit]

In June 2010, General Leslie was replaced as Chief of Land Staff by Lieutenant-General Peter Devlin[12] and was named Chief of Transformation for the Canadian Forces.[13] In this position, Leslie was responsible for releasing the 2011 Report on Transformation, which, among other changes, recommended scaling back the Primary Reserves to boost the Regular Forces and significantly cutting headquarters' budgets and transferring the amounts to front line combat units.[14] Leslie referred to this as transforming the Forces into "more tooth and less tail," a phrase that was used by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay. Some saw Leslie's report as recommending to sacrifice too many sacred cows, namely the bloated headquarters organizations.[15]

Retirement[edit]

Leslie retired in September 2011 after 35 years in uniform and was subsequently hired by CGI Group to lead their new Defence, Public Safety and Intelligence unit in Ottawa.[16]

Honours and decorations[edit]

Leslie received the following honours and decorations during and after his military career.

Order of Military Merit (Canada) ribbon (CMM).jpg MSC ribbon-military.png MSM Ribbon-military.png General Campaign Star Ribbon.png
Special Service Medal Ribbon.png CPSM Ribbon.png UNFICYP.gif UNPROFOR Medal bar.gif
Canada125 ribbon.png Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.png QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.png CD-ribbon and 2 bars.png
US Legion of Merit Commander ribbon.png POL Order Zaslugi RP kl3 BAR.png

Ribbon Description Notes
Order of Military Merit (Canada) ribbon (CMM).jpg Order of Military Merit (CMM)
  • Commander 21 September 2006
  • Officer 28 October 1998
  • [17]
MSC ribbon-military.png Meritorious Service Cross (MSC)
  • Awarded 26 November 2004
  • Military Division
  • [18]
MSM Ribbon-military.png Meritorious Service Medal (MSM)
  • Awarded 1995
  • Military Division
General Campaign Star Ribbon.png General Campaign Star
  • South West Asia Ribbon
  • With "ISAF" Bar
Special Service Medal Ribbon.png Special Service Medal
  • With "NATO" Bar
CPSM Ribbon.png Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal
UNFICYP.gif UNFICYP
  • 90 Days on UN peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus
UNPROFOR Medal bar.gif UNPROFOR
Canada125 ribbon.png 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal
  • 1992
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.png Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
  • 2002
  • Canadian Version of this Medal
  • [19]
QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.png Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
  • 2012
  • Canadian Version of this Medal
  • [20]
CD-ribbon and 2 bars.png Canadian Forces Decoration (CD)
  • 2 Clasps
US Legion of Merit Commander ribbon.png Legion of Merit
POL Order Zaslugi RP kl3 BAR.png Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland

Post-military career[edit]

Before Leslie officially retired from the military, Leslie was approached by several members of the Prime Minister's Office to inquire about whether he was interested in heading a federal department or organization. These included discussions with Prime Minister Harper's Deputy Chiefs of Staff Derek Vanstone and Jenni Byrne about potentially heading the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Once Leslie retired from the military he was approached again, this time about heading the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Leslie declined.[21]

Liberal advisor and candidacy[edit]

On September 18, 2013, Leslie was named co-chair of the Liberal International Affairs Council of Advisors, providing advice on foreign and defence issues to Liberal Party of Canada leader Justin Trudeau.[22][23] Leslie also ran to be the Liberal candidate in the 2015 general election in the riding of Orléans.[24] He won by acclamation on December 6, 2014, drawing controversy due to promises by Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau for "Open Nominations", claiming his opponent David Bertschi was improperly disqualified in order to make way for a star-candidate.[25] [26] He was elected the Member of Parliament for Orléans in the 2015 election ahead of Conservative incumbent Royal Galipeau.[27]

Member of Parliament[edit]

Leslie was elected into the House of Commons of Canada as a MP and on November 20, 2015 he was named Chief Government Whip in the Commons.[28] On February 15, 2016, Leslie was sworn in as a Member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada according to his duties as Chief Government Whip.[29]

Electoral history[edit]

Canadian federal election, 2015: Orléans
Party Candidate Votes % ∆% Expenditures
Liberal Andrew Leslie 46,542 59.7 +21.72 –
Conservative Royal Galipeau 23,821 30.5 -14.68 –
New Democratic Nancy Tremblay 6,215 8.0 -5.98 –
Green Raphaël Morin 1,410 1.8 -1.06 –
Total valid votes/Expense limit 77,988 100   $240,250.25
Total rejected ballots 272 0.30 –
Turnout 78,260 81.37 –
Eligible voters 96,174 – –
Liberal notional gain from Conservative Swing +18.2

References[edit]

  1. ^ Monitor Polski 2010 nr 83 poz. 992 – number 8.
  2. ^ Laura Stone (18 February 2015). "Lunch with Liberal Andrew Leslie: ‘Just going overseas and bombing does not work’". Global News. Retrieved 20 October 2015. 
  3. ^ "BGen EMD Leslie DSO, CD". 
  4. ^ "Andrew Leslie replaced in shuffle of military hierarchy". thestar.com. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Biography at Canadian Forces site
  6. ^ LGen AB Leslie biography, The RCA Museum
  7. ^ "ICTY Transcript Page 1927". 22 April 2008. 
  8. ^ "Application of the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide=3 February 2015=" (PDF). 
  9. ^ "Canadian army chief grilled at war crimes tribunal". 24 April 2008. 
  10. ^ "Support for Leslie is deserved". 8 May 2008. 
  11. ^ "Leslie appointed head of Canada's land forces". CBC News. 15 June 2006. 
  12. ^ Canada to get new army boss Windsor Star, 31 March 2010
  13. ^ Canadian Army To Get New Commander DND/CF Media Advisory, 18 June 2010
  14. ^ "Report on Transformation 2011". 
  15. ^ "General's report calls for dramatic cuts to bloated military staffing". The Globe and Mail. 
  16. ^ Retired Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie To Head Defence and Intelligence Business Unit at CGI The Ottawa Citizen, 29 September 2011
  17. ^ "The Governor General of Canada > Find a Recipient". gg.ca. Retrieved 20 October 2015. 
  18. ^ "The Governor General of Canada > Find a Recipient". gg.ca. Retrieved 20 October 2015. 
  19. ^ "The Governor General of Canada > Find a Recipient". gg.ca. Retrieved 20 October 2015. 
  20. ^ "The Governor General of Canada > Find a Recipient". gg.ca. Retrieved 20 October 2015. 
  21. ^ "Email trail documents Tory job overtures to retired general". canada.com. 
  22. ^ Den Tandt, Michael (18 September 2013). "Andrew Leslie, former commander of Canadian Army, joins Trudeau’s team as adviser". National Post. Retrieved 18 September 2013. 
  23. ^ "Liberals Unveil Co-Chairs of International Affairs Council of Advisors". liberal.ca. Liberal Party of Canada. Retrieved 18 September 2013. 
  24. ^ "Orleans Online - Local News". 
  25. ^ "Leslie acclaimed Liberal candidate in Orléans in chaotic meeting". 
  26. ^ "Andrew Leslie's Liberal nomination win draws protest". 8 December 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2016. 
  27. ^ "Joe Oliver, Olivia Chow and more surprising election night upsets". thestar.com. 20 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015. 
  28. ^ "Andrew Leslie named government's chief whip". CTVNews. Retrieved 17 February 2016. 
  29. ^ "GingleLive - B2B video platform allowing you to Stream, Share, and Engage live content.". ginglelive.com. Retrieved 17 February 2016. 
Military offices
Preceded by
Marc Caron		 Chief of the Land Staff
2006–2010		 Succeeded by
Peter Devlin
Special Parliamentary Responsibilities
Predecessor Title Successor
John Duncan Chief Government Whip
(2015–)		 incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Andrew_Leslie_(general)&oldid=726119486"