Mayann E. Francis, ONS is the Lieutenant Governor of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Born in the Whitney Pier district of Sydney, Nova Scotia, the daughter of Archpriest George A. Francis and Thelma D. Francis, she is a graduate of Saint Mary's University and completed graduate studies at New York University. In May 2008, Lieutenant Governor Francis was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Mount Saint Vincent University.
On June 20, 2006, she was appointed by Governor General Michaëlle Jean, on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, to the office of Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia; she assumed office on September 7, 2006. Francis is the first Black Canadian and the second woman to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia.
She was the director and CEO of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission from 1999-2006. She also served as Nova Scotia's provincial ombudsman from December 2000 until December 2003, the first woman to be appointed to that post. Previously, she has been a pioneer in senior positions with the Government of Ontario, Dalhousie University and the District Attorney's office in Kings County, New York.
She is a past member of United Way/Centraide, the Mascoll Foundation, the board of governors at University College of Cape Breton (now Cape Breton University), the general council of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and she sat on Nova Scotia's Voluntary Planning Board. Ms. Francis has been recognized for her outstanding achievements with a Harry Jerome Award, an award from the Multicultural Education Council of Nova Scotia and a Golden Jubilee Medal. She is a member of the African Orthodox Church, a church formed in the late 19th century mainly for the Black community in the United States.
She has been profiled in numerous publications, including Millennium Minds: One Hundred Black Canadians, the Who's Who in Black Canada, Canadian Who's Who and The Globe and Mail. She is a past monthly columnist with The Chronicle-Herald.
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