Fonds 2001/31 - J.G.M. Baril collection

Lieutenant-General Maurice Baril (1943- ) was appointed the Chief of Defence Staff in 1997. Born in Saint-Albert de Warwick, Québec, he studied at the University of Ottawa and joined the Canadian Officer Training Corps. Commissioned in 1963, he joined the Regular Force in May 1964. He occupied several posts within the Royal 22e Régiment and then, in 1980, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel and took command of the 2nd Battalion, R22eR, and La Citadelle in Québec City. Promoted to the rank of Colonel in July 1984, he joined the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College as the Director Land Studies and became Deputy Commandant of the College in 1985. He was transferred to National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa and, in 1986, he became Director Land Operations Training and Resources and Director of Infantry. In 1992, the Secretary-General of the United Nations appointed Baril, then a Brigadier-General, as his Military Advisor in the Department of Peacekeping Operatons. He was promoted to Major-General in 1993 and was appointed Commander Land Force Command as a Lieutenant-General. In September 1997, he was named Chief of the Defence Staff.