Who is Anita Anand? Know all about the second woman Defence Minister of Canada

In a major reshuffle to the Canadian Cabinet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday, October 26, named two women to the positions of foreign affairs and defence as part of a gender-balanced cabinet. As part of the reshuffle, 54-year-old Anita Anand will be replacing fellow Indo-Canadian Harjit Sajjan, the long-term Defence Minister who has now been appointed as the Minister of International Development Agency. Anand who was a strong contender for the position had emerged victorious in the Parliamentary elections held last month. 

Read on to know more about Anita Anand, the second woman to lead the Canadian Defence Ministry. 

Who is Anita Anand?

Born in 1967 to Indian parents SV Anand and Saroj D Ram, who were both physicians, Anita Anand holds four degrees including a Bachelor of Arts in political science, a Bachelor of Arts in jurisprudence, a Bachelor of Laws, and a Master of Laws. Around 1994, she was called to the Ontario Bar and later held academic positions at different universities. She also held the position of a law professor at the University of Toronto. 

Anand who has been living in Oakville, Ontario for the past 17 years has worked in the local community in numerous ways. She was on the Board of Directors for organisations supporting children, hospitals, and so on. Apart from that, she is also an expert in corporate governance, investment rights in financial marketing, and market regulation. 

During this while, she was also was appointed as a member of the privy council and as procurement minister at Rideau Hall. 

In 1994, she started her legal career as an associate for Torys after which she continued pursuing her academic career as a professor at universities. Later in 2019, she won the Liberal nomination for Oakville and was sworn in as a member of Parliament. 

Apart From this, Anand made a huge contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a procurement minister, she along with her department carried out an extensive strategy for engaging multiple suppliers to ensure diversity in Canada's COVID-19 vaccine supply chains. As a part of these, several large-scale domestic productions of medical supplies were established. 

Anand has also assisted in the Air India Inquiry Commission which investigated the bombing of Air India Kanishka Flight 182 in 1985. 

On 26 October 2021, she was appointed as the Minister of National Defence becoming the second woman in Canadian history to take over the position. 

Canada's Cabinet reshuffle

In his gender-balanced Cabinet, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Melanie Joly as the Foreign Minister followed by Anita Anand as Defence Minister, among others. 

Earlier, Harjit Sajjan who held the post of Defence Minister was criticised for his handling of sexual misconduct allegations in the Canadian military and has now been shifted to International Development. Meanwhile, a total of 39 ministers has been added to the Cabinet including Trudeau himself. Meanwhile, 10 ministers are staying put. 

Justin Trudeau came back to power after winning elections last month, however, he lost three ministers and another quit before the polls. 

(Image: AP/@AnitaAnand/Twitter)