Kevin G. Lynch, is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 economist

Economist

An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

 and former Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet

Clerk of the Privy Council (Canada)

The Clerk of the Privy Council is the senior civil servant in the Canadian government. The Title and Office is in fact "Clerk of the Privy Council and the Secretary to the Cabinet"...

, Canada's most senior civil servant.

Born in Sydney

Sydney, Nova Scotia

Sydney is a Canadian urban community in the province of Nova Scotia. It is situated on the east coast of Cape Breton Island and is administratively part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality....

, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, he received a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree in Economics from Mount Allison University

Mount Allison University

Mount Allison University is a primarily undergraduate Canadian liberal arts and science university situated in Sackville, New Brunswick. It is located about a half hour from the regional city of Moncton and 20 minutes from the Greater Moncton International Airport...

, a Master of Economics

Master of Economics

A Master's Degree in Economics is a postgraduate academic program, offering training in economic theory, econometrics and / or applied economics. The degree may be offered as a terminal degree or as additional preparation for doctoral study, and is sometimes offered as a professional degree...

 degree from the University of Manchester

University of Manchester

The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...

, and a Ph.D. in Economics from McMaster University

McMaster University

McMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...

 in 1980. He is married with two children.

Lynch began his career with the Bank of Canada

Bank of Canada

The Bank of Canada is Canada's central bank and "lender of last resort". The Bank was created by an Act of Parliament on July 3, 1934 as a privately owned corporation. In 1938, the Bank became a Crown corporation belonging to the Government of Canada...

 as an economist in 1976. In 1981, he joined the Department of Finance

Department of Finance (Canada)

-Function:Department of Finance Canada operates under the Minister of Finance. Its purpose is to ensure a healthy Canadian economy by developing polices of sound economic management and providing expert advice to the government....

 and rose quickly through the ranks, becoming a Director in 1983 and an Assistant Deputy Minister in 1988. In 1992 he became Associate Deputy Minister at Industry and Deputy Minister

Deputy Minister (Canada)

In Canada, a deputy minister is the senior civil servant in a government department. He or she takes political direction from an elected minister. Responsibility for the department's day-to-day operations, budget and program development lie with the deputy minister...

 of that Department in 1995. In 2000, he returned to Finance, this time as Deputy Minister.

In 2004, he moved from Ottawa to Washington, DC to serve as Executive Director for the Canadian, Irish and Caribbean constituency at the International Monetary Fund

International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...

.

On March 6, 2006, he became the 20th Clerk of the Privy Council. On May 7, 2009, he announced that he would step down on July 1. He was replaced by Secretary of the Treasury Board

Treasury Board

The Treasury Board is the Government of Canada's only statutory Cabinet committee and is responsible for the federal civil service much of the operation of the Canadian government. Among its specific duties are negotiating labour agreements with the public service unions and serving as Comptroller...

 Wayne Wouters

Wayne Wouters

Wayne G. Wouters is a Canadian public servant and Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. Canada’s most senior civil servant....

.

On May 11, 2009 he was sworn in as a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada

Queen's Privy Council for Canada

The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...

 giving him the Pre-nominal title "The Honourable

The Honourable

The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...

" and the Post-nominal letters

Post-nominal letters

Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles or designatory letters, are letters placed after the name of a person to indicate that the individual holds a position, educational degree, accreditation, office, or honour. An individual may use several different sets of...

"PC" for Life.

He currently is Vice-Chair of the BMO Financial Group.