Business leader and community activist Vaughn Solomon Schofield of Regina has been named Saskatchewan’s 21st lieutenant governor.
It is a five-year appointment, making her the provincial representative of the Queen until 2017.
The announcement was made March 6 by prime minister Stephen Harper, who recommended her appointment to governor general David Johnston.
Schofield replaces Gordon Barnhart, a former clerk of the Saskatchewan legislature and of the Canadian Senate who served for almost six years.
She is president of the Western Group of Companies, a real estate conglomerate with holdings throughout Western Canada.
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She has also been active in community causes including the Saskatchewan Roughriders as an honorary director, St. John Ambulance, the Regina Chamber of Commerce, Opera Regina and the Salvation Army.
She has been chair of the international organization Crime Watch with branches in North and South America.
The new vice-regal speaks English and Spanish.
Harper made special mention of her connection to the Canadian Forces. She was involved in the Canadian Forces Liaison Council and is an honorary lieutenant colonel of the 38th Service Battalion.
“Mrs. Schofield is a businessperson, very involved in the community and a great supporter of the Canadian armed forces,” Harper said when he introduced her to media in his Parliament Hill office.
Schofield replied that she looked forward to serving the province “and working with the government in support of the monarchy.”
