The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade has named Paul Hunt Canada’s new ambassador to Israel. He replaces Jon Allen, who assumed the post in 2006.
Hunt moves to Israel after serving for three years as ambassador to Brazil. He joined the foreign service after stints with the government of Ontario, General Motors and several federal government departments. He has served in a variety of posts with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), including director of industrial co-operation programs for Africa and the Americas, director general for Sahel and the Cote d’Ivoire program as well as vice-president for Africa and the Middle East.
Hunt is expected to present his credentials in late October.
Commenting on the appointment, Canada-Israel Committee (CIC) chief executive Shimon Fogel said, “we look forward to working with him. He’s had a distinguished career. He has some familiarity with the region and we expect he’ll seek to build on the bilateral relationship.”
Fogel said he hoped Hunt’s tenure should “reflect the quality of the relationship that has emerged in the past years.”
Turning to Allen – Canada’s third Jewish ambassador to Israel – Fogel said “he put in a tremendous amount of effort in trying to enhance Canada’s profile in the trade relationship and in other bilateral initiatives. He always tried to be accessible and hosted many of our groups. He was very gracious with his time and we wish him the best.”
In Israel, Gerald Steinberg, a professor in the political science department at Bar Ilan University, said that, “while serving at CIDA, including a stint in which he had overall responsibility for Middle East, [Hunt] had an opportunity to see the damage resulting from wasted and misdirected aid funding, particularly for radical Palestinian groups, their supporters… and for UNRWA. This experience can help him in extending Canada’s leading role in the long overdue closure or fundamental reform of these failed structures.”
