Allan Rock

Allan Rock is President Emeritus of the University of Ottawa and former Professor of Law, specializing in international humanitarian law and armed conflict in international law. He practiced litigation in Toronto for 20 years, was named a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and served as Treasurer (President) of the Law Society of Ontario.

Elected to Parliament in 1993, he held senior cabinet posts under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, including Minister of Justice, Minister of Health, and Minister of Industry and Infrastructure. From 2003–2006 he was Canada’s Ambassador to the UN, where he led adoption of the Responsibility to Protect doctrine and participated in the negotiation of the Darfur Peace Agreement. He later served as a Special Envoy for the United Nations investigating the unlawful use of child soldiers in Sri Lanka during its civil war.

From 2008–2016, Rock was President and Vice Chancellor of the University of Ottawa. He has since been a Visiting Scholar at Harvard Law School, and currently serves on the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity and as Senior Advisor to the World Refugee and Migration Council.

He is a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario.