Deborah Lyons
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Deborah Lyons | |
|---|---|
| Special Representative for Afghanistan | |
| In office 24 March 2020 – 16 June 2022 | |
| Secretary-General | António Guterres |
| Preceded by | Tadamichi Yamamoto |
| Succeeded by | Roza Otunbayeva |
| Canadian Ambassador to Israel | |
| In office 19 July 2016 – 2020 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Vivian Bercovici |
| Succeeded by | Lisa Stadelbauer |
| Canadian Ambassador to Afghanistan | |
| In office 10 July 2013 – August 2016 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Prime Minister | Stephen Harper Justin Trudeau |
| Preceded by | Glenn V. Davidson |
| Succeeded by | Kenneth Neufeld |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada |
| Education | BA University of New Brunswick, 1971 |
Deborah Lyons is a Canadian diplomat. She served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Afghanistan and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) during 2020 to 2022. Prior to her United Nations posting, she was Canada's ambassador to Israel (2016–2020) and to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2013–2016). In October 2023, she was appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to replace Irwin Cotler as Canada's Special Envoy on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism.
Lyons grew up in the Chatham neighborhood of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada as one of nine siblings.[1][2] She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1971, graduating as the first female valedictorian in the university's history, and earned certification from the International Studies Program at the Canadian National Defence College in 1993.[3][4][5][6]
Lyons owned and managed a hunting and fishing lodge on the Miramichi River and an energy and environment consulting firm prior to becoming involved in government.[6][7]
Despite her roles as Canada's Special Envoy on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism and Canadian Ambassador to Israel, Lyons is not Jewish. Lyons has stated that “at first, as a non-Jew, I was concerned if I was the right person. Then, it became very clear to me it’s not Jews who created antisemitism, which is enacted by non-Jews. How ridiculous to think it’s only Jews who should lead the fight against antisemitism. It’s the non-Jews who have to stand up for this battle.”[8]