Mawlana Hazar Imam receives His Excellency Gordon Campbell at Aiglemont on March 4, 2015. Left to right: Malik Talib; Rouben Khatchadourian, Prince Rahim, HE Gordon Campbell, Mawlana Hazar Imam, Dr Mahmoud Eboo, and Dr Shafik Sachedina. AKDN/Cécile Genest
Mawlana Hazar Imam received His Excellency Gordon Campbell, Canada’s Representative to the Ismaili Imamat, at Aiglemont, France, on Wednesday, March 4, 2015.
Recently appointed to this role by the Government of Canada, Gordon Campbell has also been serving as Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom since September 2011. Prior to his appointment, Mr Campbell served three terms as Premier of the province of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011, during which time he was ranked best fiscal manager among Canadian premiers by the Fraser Institute.
Joining Mawlana Hazar Imam and Mr. Campbell at the meeting were Prince Rahim, Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Personal Representative to Canada; Dr Mahmoud Eboo, Resident Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network in Canada; Malik Talib, President of the Ismaili Council for Canada; Rouben Khatchadourian, Political Counsellor at the Canadian High Commission to the UK; and Dr Shafik Sachedina, Head of the Department of Diplomatic Affairs at Hazar Imam’s Secretariat.
Mawlana Hazar Imam at a luncheon hosted by Premier Gordon Campbell that was attended by community, education and business leaders in honour of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Golden Jubilee visit to British Columbia in 2008. Photo: The Ismaili/Gary Otte.
In 2008, Mr. Campbell as BC’s Premier hosted a luncheon in Mawlana Hazar Imam’s honour for the Golden Jubilee visit to the Province. At the event, Mawlana Hazar Imam signed his book Where Hope Takes Root for the Premier. Mr. Campbell spoke about the contribution made by the Ismaili community in the Province and across Canada: “It touches us in British Columbia when we go to the Partnership Walk and we see literally thousands and thousands of people, not just Ismaili people, but many, many others as well joining the Ismaili community here. And most importantly, young people, young people who are becoming aware of the fact that we live in a great place and there may be things we can do to help others live in better places around the world. That is your message, and it is a message that is based on not just talking about the opportunities here before us but actually taking steps down that road to hope and to promise that you have talked about so much in the past.”
Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness Aga Khan, signing his book “Where Hope Takes Root” for Gordon Campbell, the Premier of British Columbia during his 2008 visit to the province to celebrate his Golden Jubilee. Photo: With permission of The Vancouver Sun. Copyright. Please click on photo for book review.
Mr Campbell, a Vancouver native, studied English and Urban Studies at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire and completed his MBA at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. He spent two years teaching in Nigeria with the Canadian University Service Overseas (CUSO) where he also coached championship state basketball and track and field teams in addition to launching a major library restoration initiative. After his return to British Columbia, Mr Campbell founded a successful property development firm. He then began his political career in local politics in Vancouver, where he went on to serve as Mayor for three successive terms from 1986 to 1993, and spearheaded key urban regeneration projects and ground-breaking initiatives in literacy and cultural diversity.
As Premier, Mr Campbell was recognized for his leadership on climate change issues and his reconciliation initiatives with Canada’s First Nations. He was recognized as a champion of Canada’s highly successful 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia. Mr Campbell worked to ensure that the 2010 Olympics were not just about the city of Vancouver, but were a Games that all Canadians could celebrate and call their own.
The Globe and Mail recently reported that Mr. Campbell is being floated as federal Conservative candidate for a new federal riding in Vancouver. Residents are receiving phone calls asking them if they’d vote for the former B.C. premier were he to run for the federal Conservatives in their electoral district.
Date posted: March 5, 2015.
Last updated: March 6, 2015 (typo, Hazar Imam received Gordon Campbell at Aiglemont on March 4, 2015, and not on February 4 as mentioned previously).
______________
Material compiled from the following sources:
Simerg - Insights from Around the World 