Prime Minister Mark Carney has named former Supreme Court justice Louise Arbour as Canada’s next governor general, picking a francophone with a long legal resumé which includes stints prosecuting war crimes in Rwanda and Yugoslavia and serving as the UN human rights commissioner.

Arbour will serve as the King’s representative and the commander-in-chief of Canada’s Armed Forces, replacing the retiring Mary Simon, the first Indigenous governor general, whose five-year term is due to end soon.

Arbour, 79, is one of the most celebrated jurists of her time.

She has received 42 honorary doctorates and is already a Companion of the Order of Canada — the country’s highest honour — in recognition of her pioneering legal work here and around the world.