24 Facts About Gerald Butts

Gerald Michael Butts was born on July 8,1971 and is a Canadian executive and former policy advisor to governments and political leaders.

Gerald Butts is vice chairman and senior advisor at Eurasia Group and a Board Member of the World Wildlife Fund.

Gerald Butts served as the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from November 4,2015 until his resignation on February 18,2019.

In 2014, Maclean's magazine declared Butts to be the fourteenth most powerful Canadian.

Gerald Butts is the son of Charles William "Charlie" Butts, a coal miner who was 56 years old when Butts was born and retired when Butts was 6 years old, and Rita Monica Butts, a nurse and a first-generation Canadian daughter of a Ukrainian father and a Polish mother.

Gerald Butts attended Bridgeport School and then St Michael's High School.

Gerald Butts briefly attended York University to pursue a Ph.

In 1999, Gerald Butts became a policy director within the Government of Ontario.

Gerald Butts was the policy secretary, and later the principal secretary, in the office of the then premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty, in Toronto.

Gerald Butts had previously worked with Senator Allan MacEachen and with George Smitherman.

Gerald Butts advised the campaigns that led to the Ontario Liberal Party's election victories in 2003 and 2007.

On June 25,2008, Gerald Butts was announced as the president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund Canada.

Gerald Butts officially took up the position on September 2,2008, succeeding Mike Russill.

On October 16,2012, Gerald Butts left WWF Canada to become the political advisor to Justin Trudeau.

On December 13,2012, Gerald Butts was interviewed by Steve Paikin for The Agenda on the topic of "The Best Way to Clean Up the Environment".

Gerald Butts has published articles in the Boston Book Review, the Literary Review of Canada, and Gravitas.

Gerald Butts has appeared on television programs such as W5 and TSN's Off the Record.

In 2012, stemming from a two-decade-long friendship, Gerald Butts became the senior political adviser to Justin Trudeau and one of the few people with whom Trudeau consulted regularly.

Gerald Butts assisted on the vast majority of policies on which Trudeau campaigned.

Gerald Butts was appointed Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister on November 4,2015.

On September 21,2016, The Globe and Mail reported that Gerald Butts had charged moving expenses to Canadian taxpayers in the amount of $126,669.56 to relocate his residence from Toronto to Ottawa.

On February 18,2019, Gerald Butts stepped down as Trudeau's principal secretary and stated that it was to defend himself from allegations made against him in relation to the SNC-Lavalin affair and to avoid drawing attention away from the prime minister's work.

Gerald Butts reiterated these claims in testimony to the House Judiciary Committee on March 6,2019.

Gerald Butts is the nephew of the former Canadian senator Mary Alice "Peggy" Gerald Butts, whom he cites as a major influence on him.