Allan Rock
Full Professor; President and Vice-Chancellor
550 Cumberland, Room 212
Ottawa,
Ontario
Canada
K1N 6N5
president@uOttawa.ca
613-562-5809
613-562-5103
B.A. (Ottawa), LL.B. (Ottawa), LL.D. (hon. Law Society of Upper Canada), Hon. Doc. (Windsor), Queen’s Counsel
Allan Rock has had a distinguished 35-year career in law, politics, and diplomacy. As a lawyer, he is recognized as one of Canada’s leading trial and appellate counsel. He has written and lectured extensively in his areas of specialty, and has held the most senior position in the governance of the profession in Ontario as Treasurer (President and Chief Executive Officer) of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
From 1973 until 1993, President Rock was an associate and then partner (1979-1993) of Fasken and Calvin (now Fasken Martineau Dumoulin), where he conducted a varied practice in civil, commercial and administrative litigation, and appeared frequently before courts and tribunals at all levels. When he returned to the law profession in 2006, he carried on a litigation practice at Sutts, Strosberg LLP with special emphasis on commercial disputes, public law, and class actions.
In politics, President Rock served for a decade in both social and economic portfolios in the federal cabinet. He was Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 1993 to 1997. During that time, he implemented a gun control registry, including a ban on military-type assault weapons and most handguns, and restrictions on licensing and requirements to all other handguns. He led comprehensive sentencing reform and guided major changes in child support taxation to favour the custodial parent. As Minister of Health, he led the transition from the Medical Research Council (MRC) to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). While he was Minister of Industry, he was responsible for the tri-councils (NRC, NSERC, and SSHRC), chaired the Advisory Council on Science and Technology, and introduced Canada’s Innovation Strategy.
In diplomacy, President Rock was Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations during a period that involved responding to several complex regional conflicts, intensive efforts to modernize the United Nations through institutional reforms, and negotiations leading to a Global Summit on development, security and human rights.
President Rock has also served as Special Advisor on Sri Lanka to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on Children and Armed Conflict. He is Chair of the Board of the Trust Fund for War-Affected Children and Youth in Northern Uganda which invests in programs and services of rehabilitation, training and reconciliation for children and youth who have survived the conflict in the region. He also is Member, Security Council Report’s International Advisory Group; Member, Editorial Board of Global Responsibility to Protect; Member, Advisory Board of the International Legal Foundation; Member, Board of Save the Children Canada; Member, Board of the United Nations Association of Canada.