View source for Maurice Baril

{{Short description|Canadian military officer}}
{{Infobox military person 
|name= J.G. Maurice Baril
|image= Maurice Baril.JPG
|image_size= 
|alt= 
|caption= Maurice Baril, September 2008.
|birth_date= {{Birth date and age|1943|09|22}}
|death_date= 
|birth_place= [[Saint-Albert, Quebec]]
|death_place= 
|placeofburial= 
|nickname= 
|allegiance= {{flag|Canada}}
|branch= [[Canadian Army]]
|serviceyears= 1963–2001
|rank= [[General]]
|unit= [[Royal 22e Régiment|Royal 22<sup>e</sup> Régiment]]
|commands= [[Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Chief of the Defence Staff]]<br/>Head of the Military Division of the [[Department of Peacekeeping Operations]]<br/>Commander, [[CTC Gagetown]]
|battles= [[Turkish invasion of Cyprus|Cyprus]]
|awards= [[Officer of the Order of Canada]]<br/>[[Order of Military Merit (Canada)|Commander of the Order of Military Merit]]<br/>[[Meritorious Service Decoration (Canada)|Meritorious Service Medal]]<br/>[[Canadian Forces' Decoration]]
|relations= 
|laterwork= Chairman of the Board of Directors for the [[Canadian Air Transport Security Authority]] (2005–07)
}}

'''Joseph Gérard Maurice Baril''', {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|CMM|MSM|CD}} (born September 22, 1943) is a retired [[general]] officer in the [[Canadian Forces]], a military advisor to the [[United Nations Secretary-General]] and head of the Military Division of the [[Department of Peacekeeping Operations]] of the [[United Nations]] from 1992 to 1997, and [[Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Chief of the Defence Staff]] in [[Canada]] from 1997 to 2001.<ref name="CE">{{cite web|url=http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009306|title = Baril, Maurice|access-date = 2008-09-13|last = Bernier|first = Serge|year = 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110709143930/http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009306|archive-date=9 July 2011}}</ref>

==Early life==
He was born in [[Saint-Albert, Quebec]], in 1943 and studied at the [[University of Ottawa]] from 1961 to 1964, becoming an officer in the [[Canadian Army]] in 1963.<ref name="CE" />

==Military career==
Baril served with the [[Royal 22nd Regiment]] from 1964 to 1968. From 1968 to 1971, he served with [[The Canadian Airborne Regiment]] in [[Valcartier, Quebec]] and [[Edmonton]], Alberta. He commanded land forces in [[Cyprus]] and [[Lahr]], [[Germany]], served at [[Department of National Defence (Canada)|Department of National Defence]] headquarters in [[Ottawa]], [[Ecole Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr]] in Paris and as commander of the Combat Training Centre at [[CFB Gagetown]].<ref name="CE" />

He was appointed head of the Military Division of the [[Department of Peacekeeping Operations]] (DPKO) at the [[United Nations]] in June 1992, where he was military advisor to then under-secretary for peacekeeping operations [[Kofi Annan]].<ref name="CBCAnnan">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/kofiannan.html |title=AN INTERVIEW WITH KOFI ANNAN |access-date=2008-09-13 |last=Soloman |first=Evan |year=2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116023006/http://www.cbc.ca/sunday/kofiannan.html |archive-date=November 16, 2007 }}</ref>

Baril was in charge of the Military Division at DPKO during the [[Rwandan genocide]] where his countryman General [[Roméo Dallaire]] was force commander of the [[United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda]] (UNAMIR). He went on to be chief of [[Land Force Quebec Area]] in [[Montreal]] in July 1995 and [[Commander of the Canadian Army|chief of the Land Staff]] in September 1996.<ref name="CE"/>

In 1996 Canada's prime minister [[Jean Chretien]] appointed Baril to lead a multinational force, whose main task would be to provide humanitarian aid to refugees in [[Zaïre]], with military assistance if required.<ref>Rever, Judi, ''[[In Praise of Blood|In Praise of Blood - The Crimes of the Rwanda Patriotic Front]]'', (Random House Canada: 2018), pp. 38-39</ref>

In September 1997, Baril was appointed [[Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Chief of the Defence Staff]] by [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] [[Roméo LeBlanc]], on the advice of his [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister]], [[Jean Chrétien]].<ref name="CE" /><ref>[https://archive.today/20030826230714/http://www.gg.ca/media/doc.asp?lang=e&DocID=25 Governor General of Canada – Assumption of Command of Lieutenant-General J.M.G. Baril – Rideau Hall – Wednesday, September 24, 1997]</ref>

Baril, along with American general [[Henry Shelton]], was a signatory to the joint Canadian-American military exercise [[Amalgam Virgo]] in June 2001. Amalgam Virgo has been cited as a dress rehearsal for the Vigilant Guardian and [[Global Guardian]] air exercises conducted during the [[9/11 attacks]].

Baril retired from the [[Canadian Forces]] on July 18, 2001.<ref name="Baugher_f4_41">{{cite web|url = http://www.ratical.org/ratville/CAH/linkscopy/AmalgumVirgo.pdf|title =SEADS CONCEPT PROPOSAL AMALGAM VIRGO 01 |access-date = 2008-09-13|last = North American Aerospace Defense Command|author-link = North American Aerospace Defense Command|date=June 2001}}</ref>

==Post military career==
In 2002, Baril led the Canadian board of inquiry into the [[friendly fire]] [[Tarnak Farm incident]] on [[2002 in Afghanistan#April|April 17, 2002]], near [[Kandahar]], [[Afghanistan]].

Maurice Baril was appointed chairman of the board of directors for the [[Canadian Air Transport Security Authority]] (CATSA) in 2005, but resigned in January 2007.<ref>[http://www.tc.gc.ca/mediaroom/releases/nat/2007/07-h003e.htm Transport Canada – News release H 003/07 – Minister Cannon accepts the decision of the board of directors' chairman for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority – January 23, 2007]</ref>

==Honours==
In 2011, he was made an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]] "for his contributions to the nation, notably for his leadership as head of the Canadian Forces, and for his ongoing contributions to peacekeeping around the world".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/paul-martin-rick-hillier-appointed-to-the-order-of-canada/article4248394/|title=Paul Martin, Rick Hillier appointed to the Order of Canada|work=The Globe and Mail|date=30 December 2011|accessdate=26 February 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{succession box|title=[[Commander of the Canadian Army|Chief of the Land Staff]]|
 before=[[Gord Reay]]|
 after=[[William Leach (Canadian Army officer)|William Leach]]|
 years=1996–1997}}
|-
{{succession box|title=[[Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)|Chief of the Defence Staff]]|
                 before=[[Larry Murray (admiral)|L. E. Murray]]|
                 after=[[Ray Henault|R. R. J. Henault]]|
                 years=1997–2001}}
{{s-end}}

{{Commander of the Canadian Army}}
{{Chief of the Defence Staff (Canada)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baril, Maurice}}
[[Category:1943 births]]
[[Category:Canadian generals]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Canadian military personnel from Quebec]]
[[Category:Chiefs of the Defence Staff (Canada)]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of Military Merit (Canada)]]
[[Category:Canadian Airborne Regiment officers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Meritorious Service Decoration]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Canadian Army]]