Indo-Canadian Sikh origin, Harjit Sajjan was named Canada’s new Defence Minister by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a ceremony on Wednesday, 4th November.
Mr Sajjan, has served as Lt Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces, he was elected as a lawmaker for Vancouver South, and he is a combat veteran serving in Bosnia and had three deployments to Kandahar, Afghanistan.
The honourable man who is Canada’s new Defence Minister now, has received numerous military acoolades and honours including, the Meritorious Service Medal in 2013, for reducing the Taliban’s influence in the Kandahar Province.
45 year-old Defence Minister was born in India and moved to Canada with his family when he was five-years-old, CBC News reported.
Mr. Sajjan tweeted on after his appointment as Canada’s Defence Minister:
It’s an honour to serve in cabinet as Minister of National Defence. I will work hard to serve Canada #vansouth proud pic.twitter.com/qFEKmIiGJ6
— Harjit Sajjan (@HarjitSajjan) November 4, 2015
“His approach, based on his knowledge of local culture and tribal dynamics, helped senior management to engage with influential Afghan tribal leaders, and led to the identification of insurgent command and control connection points,” according to the citation on the Governor General’s website.
His bio on his official website:
“Harjit is a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Armed Forces and a combat veteran. He has deployed to Bosnia-Herzegovina and served three separate deployments to Kandahar, Afghanistan. Harjit has received numerous recognition for his service, including the Meritorious Service Medal for reducing the Taliban’s influence in Kandahar Province. He is also a recipient of the Order of Military Merit – one of the military’s highest recognitions. Harjit also served as an Aide-de-Camp to the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.
Harjit was a police officer with the Vancouver Police Department for 11 years. He completed his last assignment as a Detective-Constable with the Gang Crime Unit specializing in organized crime. He proudly tackled gang violence and drug crimes in Vancouver. Harjit is also a Human Security specialist, lecturing to a wide audience in both Canada and the US.”
As Canada’s new Defence Minister, Mr. Sajjan will be working with Prime Minister Mr Trudeau on reshaping Canada’s combat mission fighting ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
The world is happy about his appointment as the Defence Minister. Many twitter users have been cheering Mr. Sajjan for his achievement.
1.
PM @JustinTrudeau gives ‘breaking down stereotypes’ whole new meaning by appointing @HarjitSajjan Defence Minister pic.twitter.com/3OrKpwVp5G
— Safwan (@SafwanChoudhry) November 4, 2015
2.
.@HarjitSajjan, Canadian Sikh. Veteran of Bosnia & Afghanistan, is Canada’s new Defense Minister. Amazingly awesome. pic.twitter.com/jZNCHlxocc
— Zeddonymous (@ZeddRebel) November 4, 2015
3.
Congratulations to Cabinet Minister @HarjitSajjan – experience, empathy, an earned post. #PM23 pic.twitter.com/pZpRIA1VpG
— Jesse Miller (@MediatedReality) November 4, 2015
4.
The internet is already a friend of @HarjitSajjan This is going around, comparing the new MND to the old ones. pic.twitter.com/B7WZWrzAvh
— James Cudmore (@cudmoreCBC) November 4, 2015
5.
The @liberal_party welcomed 30 cabinet ministers on Twitter today. @HarjitSajjan‘s welcome was the most Retweeted. https://t.co/Y9ItUeXLI9
— Twitter Canada (@TwitterCanada) November 4, 2015
Source: NDTV
