Harjit Sajjan

Biography of Harjit Sajjan

Date of Birth: 09.06.1970

Harjit Singh Sajjan - Canadian military and politician, Minister of International Development (since 2021), Minister of Defence of Canada (2015-2021).

Place of Birth. Education. Harjit Sajjan was born on September 6, 1970, in a Sikh family in the village of Bombela, India. His father, Kundan Sajjan, was the Deputy Police Chief of Punjab in India and is currently a member of the World Sikh Organization (WSO). Harjit Singh immigrated to Canada in 1976 at the age of five with his mother and older sister to join his father, who had gone to British Columbia two years earlier to work in a lumber mill. Harjit Singh grew up in the South Vancouver area.

Military and Police Career. In 1989, he joined the Canadian Army. He served in the Canadian military contingent in Bosnia and Afghanistan (3 times). In 2011, he was appointed Commander of the Duke of Connaught's Own Regiment of British Columbia. Sajjan was the first Sikh to be appointed as the commander of a Canadian army regiment. He attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

For eleven years, Harjit was a police officer with the Vancouver Police Department. He worked as a Detective Constable in the Organized Crime Unit.

Political Career. In the 2015 federal elections, Sajjan was elected as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada in the South Vancouver riding. On November 4, 2015, he became Minister of Defence in Justin Trudeau's government.

On October 26, 2021, at the swearing-in of Justin Trudeau's new government, Sajjan was appointed Minister of Economic Development.

Awards. Harjit has received numerous awards for his service, including the Merit Medal 'For Merit', awarded for his efforts to 'reduce the influence of the Taliban in the Kandahar province'. He is also a recipient of the Military Service Medal, one of the highest military honors.

Family. In 1996, he married Kuljit Kaur Sajjan, who works as a family doctor, and together they are raising their two children, son Arjun Sajjan and daughter Jiwat Sajjan.

Harjit is also an expert in personal safety and delivers lectures to a wide audience both in Canada and in the United States.

09.05.2022