Quick Facts
Biography
Graydon Nicholas CM ONB (born 1946, Maliseet) is an attorney, judge, and politician who served as the appointed 30th Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick (2009-2014). He is the first Aboriginal person to hold the office, the first to be appointed as a provincial court judge (in 1991), and the first in Atlantic Canada to obtain a law degree.
Early life and education
Graydon Nicholas was born into a Maliseet family on the Tobique First Nations Reserve. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Francis Xavier University and, in 1971, a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of New Brunswick.He was the first First Nations person in Atlantic Canada to earn a law degree. He also obtained a Master of Social Work degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1974.
Career
Returning to New Brunswick, Nicholas worked for the Union of New Brunswick Indians, serving as its chairman of the board (1976–1980) and president (1980–1988). Selected as chair of the Native Studies program at St. Thomas University, he has lectured part time.
Nicholas was appointed as a provincial court judge in 1991, the first aboriginal to be selected for the position.He has worked for justice for First Nations and other peoples, particularly in the area of logging rights. During this period, he also lectured in theology at the Vancouver School of Theology and the Native Ministries Consortium program.
In September 2009, Nicholas was appointed as the next Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, on the suggestion of Premier Shawn Graham with support from the opposition.He was the first Aboriginal named to this position. He served a five-year term. He succeeded Herménégilde Chiasson, the poet and philosopher, on September 30, 2009.
Honours
- New Brunswick Human Rights Award
- Fredericton YMCA Peace Medallion
- Canada 125 Medal
- Inaugural recipient of the Golden Jubilee Medal
- 2011, Nicholas was honoured as one of Wilfrid Laurier University's 100 alumni of achievement
- Member of the Order of New Brunswick and of the Order of Canada