EDMONTON, Canada — Larisa Galadza has been appointed as ambassador of Canada to Ukraine, according to an announcement made on Nov. 4 by Canada’s Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Galadza replaces Roman Waschuk, who has been on the job representing the North American country of 37 million people since October 2014. She will become the 10th Canadian ambassador to Ukraine since the country’s independence and only the second woman after Abaina M. Dann, who was in office from September 2005 until August 2008.
“It is an honor and privilege to be named Canada’s ambassador to Ukraine,” Galadza tweeted. “I can’t wait to start my work in Ukraine.”
Galadza has extensive experience working for the Canadian government. She holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Carleton University. Upon graduation in 1996, she joined the Department of National Defense. She worked in policy-related positions at the Privy Council Office and the Treasury Board Secretariat, before moving to Public Safety Canada, where she was director of Strategic Policy and Research.
From 2012 to 2014, Galadza served at the Privy Council Office as director of operations for the Social Affairs Committee of Cabinet, and for the next two years, she served as director general of Admissibility at Citizenship and Immigration Canada. In 2016, she became a director of the Peace and Stabilization Operations Program at Global Affairs Canada.
During her work at the program, Galadza was involved in a number of projects involving Ukraine, said Ukraine’s Ambassador to Canada Andriy Shevchenko. Those included Canada’s peace and stabilization assistance and also support to police reform in Ukraine which aimed at establishing the Department of Patrol Police as a modern and professional police unit.
Galadza is off to a good start, says Shevchenko. “Not only she is very knowledgeable about the situation in Ukraine, she feels and understands this country. She won’t need to spend much time learning (about Ukraine) because she knows what’s going on.”
Galadza comes from a respectable Ukrainian-Canadian family, Shevchenko said, adding that the newly elected ambassador is fluent in Ukrainian and her appointment will become “an honorable thing” for the Ukrainian community in Canada. “She was raised in family where Ukraine and Ukrainian-Canadian relations have always been cherished,” Shevchenko told the Kyiv Post. “That is why for her this is more than just an appointment.”
Others share his sentiment. “Her experience and skills will be a tremendous asset,” said Alexandra Chyczij, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Council. “The Ukrainian-Canadian community looks forward to working closely with Ambassador Galadza and the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv.”
