{{short description|Canadian judge}} '''John D. Richard''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|OC|QC}} (born July 30, 1934) was the Chief Justice of Canada's Federal Court of Appeal and in 2013, was listed as a NAFTA adjudicator.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nafta-sec-alena.org/Default.aspx?tabid=96&language=en-US |title=NAFTA Trilateral > Dispute Settlement > Roster Members |website=www.nafta-sec-alena.org |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203013808/https://www.nafta-sec-alena.org/Default.aspx?tabid=96&language=en-US |archive-date=2013-12-03}} </ref>
Richard was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Ottawa in 1955, followed by his law studies at Osgoode Hall Law School, where he received the gold medal and the Chancellor Van Koughnet Scholarship in 1959. He was called to the Bar of Ontario in that year, continuing his studies for an Honours Licentiate in Political & Social Sciences from Louvain University in 1960.
He then practised law as a trial lawyer at two firms throughout his legal career, from 1960 until 1994, when he was appointed as a judge. He was created Queen's Counsel in 1976. In 1994, he was appointed as a judge on the Federal Court of Canada's Trial Division, followed by his appointment as associate chief justice in 1998.
The court's name was changed to the Federal Court of Appeal, and he was appointed Chief Justice in 1999 by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.<ref>"PM names new chief justice", ''Red Deer Advocate'' (November 10, 1999), p. D5.</ref><ref>Janice Tibbets, "Ottawa justice to head Federal Court", ''The Ottawa Citizen'' (November 9, 1999), p. 1.</ref> Richard served until September 2009, when he retired.<ref name="Brown">Dave Brown, "Lawyers often reach for more than money", ''Ottawa Citizen'' (October 26, 2009), p. B1.</ref>
Richard then became the Honorary Chairperson of Reach Canada, an NGO located in Ottawa that assists people with disabilities to get legal help.<ref name="Brown"/>
Richard played three seasons of football for the Ottawa Gee-Gees, and in 2010 he was inducted into the Ottawa Gee-Gees football [https://teams.geegees.ca/tradition/HOF/football_bios/Hon._John_Richard-_O.C. Hall of Fame.]
In June 2012, Richard was named to the Order of Canada.<ref>Mark Brownlee, "City residents named to Order of Canada", ''The Ottawa Citizen'' (June 30, 2012), p. D6.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.fca-caf.gc.ca/about/bios/richard_e.shtml John D. Richard] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115012701/http://www.fca-caf.gc.ca/about/bios/richard_e.shtml |date=2007-11-15 }} at the [https://web.archive.org/web/20080504132728/http://www.fca-caf.gc.ca/index_e.shtml Federal Court of Appeal]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard, John}} Category:1934 births <!-- never appointed as a judge in Ontario Category:Ontario judges --> Category:Lawyers in Ontario Category:University of Ottawa alumni Category:Lawyers from Ottawa Category:Living people Category:Judges of the Federal Court of Appeal (Canada) Category:Officers of the Order of Canada Category:Osgoode Hall Law School alumni Category:Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni