A sinecure is an office,carrying a salary or otherwise generating income,that requires or involves little or no responsibility,labour,or active service. The term originated in the medieval church,where it signified a post without any responsibility for the "cure [care] of souls",the regular liturgical and pastoral functions of a cleric,but came to be applied to any post,secular or ecclesiastical,that involved little or no actual work. Sinecures have historically provided a potent tool for governments or monarchs to distribute patronage,while recipients are able to store up titles and easy salaries.
Donald James Johnston,was a Canadian lawyer,writer and politician who was Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 1996 to 2006. He was the first non-European to head that organization. From 1978 to 1988,Johnston was a Liberal Party member of the Canadian parliament and served in the cabinets of prime ministers Pierre Trudeau and John Turner. In addition,he was the president of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1990 to 1994. Johnston was an Officer of the Order of Canada,and an Officer of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour.
The Privy Council Office is the central agency of the Government of Canada which acts as the secretariat to the Cabinet of Canada –a committee of the King's Privy Council for Canada –and provides non-partisan advice and support to the Canadian ministry,as well as leadership,coordination,and support to the departments and agencies of government.
The clerk of the Privy Council is the professional head of the Public Service of Canada. As the deputy minister for the Privy Council Office,the clerk is the senior civil servant in the Government of Canada and serves as the secretary to the Cabinet.
In Canada,a deputy minister is the senior civil servant in a government organization,who acts as deputy head. Deputy ministers take political direction from a minister of the Crown,who is typically an elected member of Parliament and responsible for the department.
(Robert) Gordon Robertson,was the commissioner of the Northwest Territories from November 15,1953 to July 12,1963 who,having been sworn in at the age of 36,remains the youngest person to ever hold the office. He went on to become Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet,the top position in the Canadian public service.
Gordon Francis Joseph Osbaldeston,was a Canadian civil servant.
Huguette Labelle is a Canadian retired civil servant and former Chancellor of the University of Ottawa,serving from 1994 until 2012. She has been the chair of the Independent Advisory Board for Senate Appointments since 2016.
JoséÁngel Gurría Treviño,also known as Ángel Gurría,is a Mexican economist and diplomat. From 1 June 2006 to 31 May 2021,he was the secretary-general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Melvin Samuel Cappe,is a retired Canadian civil servant and diplomat. From 2006 to 2011 he was the President and CEO of the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) in Montreal,Quebec. He was most recently Canada's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He had served in Canada's government since 1975 as a deputy minister of Environment Canada,Human Resources Development and Labour,as well as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Federal Cabinet.
The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) is an Australian Government public service central department of state with broad ranging responsibilities,primary of which is for intergovernmental and whole of government policy coordination and assisting the prime minister of Australia in managing the Cabinet of Australia. The PM&C was established in 1971 and traces its origins back to the Prime Minister's Department established in 1911.
Stefanie Beck is a Canadian public servant and diplomat. She has been serving as the Associate Deputy Minister of National Defence since January 31,2022. She was previously Deputy High Commissioner for Canada to the United Kingdom.
Barbara Hackman Franklin is an American government official,corporate director,and business executive. She served as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 1992–1993 to President George H. W. Bush,during which she led a presidential mission to China.
Ian D. Clark,is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Victoria,a senior fellow in the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto,a Canadian former civil servant,and former president of the Council of Ontario Universities.
Judith Anne LaRocque,,was a senior Canadian civil servant. Most notably,she served as Secretary to the Governor General of Canada and Herald Chancellor of Canada from 1990 until 2000. Since 2010,she has been Canada's Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris. She died on December 29,2021.
Findicator was an online service providing up-to-date statistical information on the progress of Finland with about 100 indicators describing various aspects of society. The service was trilingual:all material was available in English,Finnish and Swedish. The graphs and tables of the service were automatically updated from a database as new information was published by governmental data producers.
Janice Charette is a Canadian public servant serving as the clerk of the Privy Council and secretary to the Cabinet. She previously held the role from 2014 to 2016,before being appointed as the Canadian high commissioner to the United Kingdom in 2016.
Michael Wernick is a retired Canadian public servant (1981-2019),academic and author who served as the 23rd Clerk of the Privy Council of Canada from 2016 to 2019. Wernick was previously the deputy minister for the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development from May 2006 to July 11,2014. Before being the Clerk of the Privy Council office,Wernick was the deputy clerk under predecessor Janice Charette. He has held several other positions in the Privy Council office and as Associate Deputy Minister for the Department of Canadian Heritage.
Jean Edmonds was a Canadian journalist and public servant who became one of the first women to be appointed to senior executive roles in Canada's federal public service.
