Amazing woman. You won’t surprise anyone with the fact that she is the head of a large state: there are plenty of women in such posts now. But the fact that she is an experienced astronaut who has been to space twice and for a long time is a unique fact. And she knows six languages, including Russian. With education, everything is also in order - a computer engineer. And also a beauty. Please love and favor, Mrs. Julie Payette.
Powers of the Governor General of Canada
To begin with, Canada is a member of the Kingdom of the Commonwealth of 16 states in which Elizabeth II is the head, and the constitutional monarchy remains a political system for a long time. In each of the dominant countries of Great Britain there is an official representative of the Queen of England. This is exactly what the Governor General of Canada is.
The procedure for appointing a candidate for this post is carried out strictly and always in the same order. The Prime Minister of Canada seeks, evaluates and advises the Queen of Great Britain. The Queen, if approved, appoints a new candidate to the post of her authorized representative.
The Governor-General of Canada is de jure the head of state. Let's deal with this de jure. Until 1952, exclusively British aristocrats were appointed to this position, which assumed the status of the country as a dominion - ruled "from above" from England. Now this is not in sight. A rather interesting situation has arisen: on the one hand, the Governor-General of Canada represents the interests of the English crown, whose power has turned only into a historical symbol.
On the other hand, the representative of this symbol performs the most important functions in the country:
- approval or rejection of all new laws;
- convocation and dissolution of the Canadian Parliament;
- appointment of the prime minister, federal ministers, judges and senior officials.
Sportswoman, Komsomol member, beauty
In 2017, this position was taken by Julie Payette, whose merits stand in front of the country and society in a separate story. The mere fact that the Governor-General of Canada flew into space twice and for a long time makes us look at Madame Payette more closely.
Even without space exploits, Julie Payette is a person with a unique breadth of activities, skills and hobbies. She plays the piano, flute and sings beautifully. What is “great sings” in relation to Julie: she, for example, sang accompanied by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.
It’s clear that nowhere is there without sports: Julie is skiing in winter and summer without them, she is engaged in scuba diving and plays tennis very well. Six foreign languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Russian - this is her linguistic reserve. And in addition - the pilot of the Canadian Air Force.
Cosmic Life of the Governor General
Julie Payette is by no means a "wedding general" from outer space. Behind her shoulders are two of the hardest and longest flights in astronaut teams. It all started in 1992, when she, after a crazy contest of applicants, was enlisted in a squad for flying to an orbital station.
The first flight lasted 9 days and 19 hours in the Shuttle Discovery, it took place in 1999 - to the famous ISS. Julie was engaged in the repair of battery chargers there, assisted her colleagues during their spacewalk.
The second flight on Endeavor lasted more than 15 days. The shuttle also flew to the ISS in 2009 with the most difficult technical task, which was successfully completed.
