Slave Descendant Reaches Top Post

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Michaelle Jean, a woman born in poverty-stricken Haiti who has gone on to become an accomplished journalist, will become the next Governor General of Canada.

Jean, 48, will officially be installed on Sept. 27. She will replace Adrienne Clarkson, who is stepping down in September after six years at Rideau Hall.

An accomplished broadcaster who speaks five languages fluently, Jean is a descendant of slaves. She fled the dictatorship in Haiti with her family and went on to study at universities around the world.

She will be the first black Governor General to be named to the post, and the first Quebecer in 21 years. Jean follows the late Jeanne Sauve, who was actually born in Saskatchewan, but represented Quebec in the House of Commons.

Jean's family fled Haiti when she was 11, during the reign of Francois ("Papa Doc") Duvalier. She is the niece of a well-known Haitian writer, Rene Depestre, who chronicled his country's social and political problems.

I love my country.