President's biography

Gilles Leclerc, Acting President of the Canadian Space Agency

Mr. Gilles Leclerc serves as Acting President of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) effective, February 2, 2013.

Educated as an engineer-physicist, Mr. Gilles Leclerc worked in geophysics, education and science policy before joining the CSA in 1989. 

His career progressed from entry as a Project Engineer, to Program Manager and Director of Technology Management and Applications, before becoming Director General, Space Technologies in 2004. Between 1997 and 2000, Mr. Leclerc was posted at the Canadian Embassy in Paris as Counsellor, Science, Technology and Space Affairs. 

In 2010, as Director General, Mr. Leclerc assumed responsibility for the Space Exploration Branch of the CSA, which actively manages Canada's participation in the International Space Station, astronomy and planetary missions, human space flight, space robotics and life sciences.

Mr. Leclerc is a Member of the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec.