Finance minister Jim Flaherty today announced the appointment of Daniel Johnson to the board of directors of the Bank of Canada. His appointment is effective immediately.

Johnson, a legal counsel in the Montreal office of McCarthy Tétrault LLP, where he provides strategic and practical advice to clients regarding their relations with public and governmental institutions. He also acts as mediator in disputes between private parties.

A former premier of the province of Quebec, Johnson was a member of the National Assembly of Quebec for more than 17 years and held numerous offices in the Government of Quebec.

In 2004, Johnson co-chaired, with Brian Mulroney, a Quebec government commission on the construction of Montreal’s University Health Centres. He is currently Chairman of the Quebec Committee on the remuneration of judges and justices of the peace.

A law graduate of the Université de Montréal and a member of the Quebec bar since 1967, Johnson also holds LLM and PhD degrees from the University of London (UK), as well as an MBA from Harvard University.