Ronald Gould

Ronald Gould is one of the world’s leading experts on the organization and management of elections. He joined the Canadian public service in 1955 and worked in various departments, ultimately becoming assistant chief electoral officer at Elections Canada, a position he held for 20 years.

He has participated in more than 100 elections in over 70 countries, including Cambodia -- where he headed the team for the country’s first general election -- Bosnia, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Yemen, South Africa and Mozambique. In 2007 he conducted an independent inquiry into the Scottish election results for the U.K. Electoral Commission.

He is the author of the books A Guide for Election Observers and Strengthening Democracy: A Parliamentary Perspective, as well as several articles on international elections. For his contributions to democracy, Gould was named a Member of the Order of Canada and received the Medal of Honour from the United Nations Association of Canada, the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, the Ten Years of Democracy in South Africa Award, the Canadian Peacekeeping Medal and the Outstanding Service Award from the Council on Governmental Ethics Laws.