Roland Paris, International Man of Mystery

I am so thrilled that a friend of mine, Roland Paris, is now going to be a senior adviser to the new Prime Minister of Canada:

Honoured to accept position as senior advisor to PM Justin Trudeau at this exciting moment of renewal in Canada’s international engagement.

— Roland Paris (@rolandparis) November 13, 2015

Forgot ponder the doppelganger aspect

I have known Roland since the early 2000's, having invited him to speak at McGill.  We would beer occasionally when I came to Ottawa to interview generals and officials.  He was one of the folks who welcomed us to Ottawa, making that move far easier and more fun than any other move.  Roland has been a regular at my poker game, and has been a delight in those games.

Roland is also one of the brightest minds in Canada, the most articulate voice of reason.  I have no doubt that he will serve both his country and the Prime Minister very well in this new capacity.  Congratulations to him for being given this role and congrats to the PM and the folks around him for recognizing Roland's talent and putting him in the right spot.

I am also glad at the additional evidence that IR folks can be, dare I say it, policy relevant!

I am hoping that Roland will still have time for poker and beer.  Of course, one of the fun parts of this, which we have already experienced at the Canada Among Nations book launch two weeks ago, is asking Roland questions that he cannot answer.  I knew something was up, but I am pretty sure I lost whatever intra-friends-of-Roland network bets to which I agreed.



Again, congratulations, Roland.  We have always expected great things from you and we have not been disappointed. I fully expect that no one can stop you now.