Kevin Vickers, the sergeant-at-arms in Canada’s House of Commons who became a household name for thwarting a gunman’s attack on parliament in October, is to be the next Canadian ambassador to Ireland.
Mr Vickers (58), who shot Michael Zehaf-Bibeau after he killed a soldier and stormed the Parliament Hill in Ottawa, will replace Loyola Hearn in the role.
“Kevin Vickers has shown profound leadership and dedication to the security of Canada and its national institutions,” said Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper announcing his appointment.
“His extensive experience working with Parliament, as well as his bravery and integrity, will serve to deepen close bilateral relations between Canada and Ireland in the years ahead.”
Zehaf-Bibeau (32) shot Corporal Nathan Cirillo while he was standing sentry at the National War Memorial before entering the parliamentary building and exchanging gunfire with security personnel.
After stopping the gunman, he is said to have entered the Conservative meeting room in the parliamentary building and told MPs: “I engaged the suspect and the suspect is deceased.”
He was honoured with a lengthy standing ovation by parliamentarians after he entered the House for Commons for the first time after the incident, a gesture that left him visibly moved.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan said Mr Vickers “will be an excellent ambassador and a great friend of Ireland during his time with us”.
“He was commended by all Canadian political parties for his central role arising from the attack on the Parliament and the main war memorial in Ottawa,” he said.
Mr Vickers, a quiet-spoken man, has served as a senior security officer for Canada’s government since 2006 after a 29-year career in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, during which, it is reported, he never fired a shot at a suspect.
Born in Miramichi, New Brunswick, Mr Vickers is the descendant of Irish Famine emigrants. His mother was a nurse and his father ran a dairy. Speaking after the October incident, Ireland’s ambassador to Canada, Dr Ray Bassett described Mr Vickers in an interview with NewYork-based website ‘Irish Central’ as “a real old-fashioned cop from a large Irish Catholic family.”
