ALLAN BIRD

Allan Burnell Bird, CStJ, CD, FRHSC, is a retired Executive of the Public Service of Canada. With the Royal Canadian Mounted Police he held various roles including Officer in Charge of National Security Threat Assessment and Protective Intelligence. With the Canadian Security Intelligence Service he functioned as Head of the Russian Desk, Chief of Personnel Security, and Chief of Operational Security. He is also a decorated member of the Canadian Armed Forces, having served with The Royal Montreal Regiment and The Brockville Rifles. He is the Honorary Colonel of The Brockville Rifles. He received his Grant of Arms from Queen Elizabeth II in 2009.

Allan has sat on a number of boards including President of the Heraldry Society of Canada from 2006 to 2008, and President and Chair of St. John Ambulance, Federal District from 2011 to 2014. He worked for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Committee as the Venue Manager of the Athletes Village, as Security Manager of the 2012 London Olympic Committee, and with the 2015 Baku, Azerbaijan European Games Committee as the Venue Manager of the Athletes Village. Allan has worked in the Port Security Sector of the Organization of American States, and on the technical project assessment panel of Defense Research and Development Canada. He is a certified Force Protection Officer with the Canadian Provost Marshal and with the United States Northern Command. He is a former member of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. As a retired Executive of the Canadian Government, he has a perpetual Top Secret Security Clearance.

He is a recipient of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Silver Medal, the Canadian Forces Decoration, and the United States Secret Service Director’s Honor Award. He received both the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and Diamond Jubilee Medal for his exemplary service and outstanding leadership in Canada, and the award of Commander of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John. He is a Knight Commander of the Order of St. George and a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Lazarus.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree and an Honour’s Degree in Political Science and Law. He is fluent in both French and English. He is currently working for the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe as a lecturer at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.