Gary William O’Brien was born in Toronto in 1951. He holds a BA (Honours) degree from Glendon College, York University, and an MA and PhD from Carleton University, all in political science. He studied in Toulouse, France, from 1974–75 and started working in the Parliament of Canada in 1975. He was named Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments in 2009, retiring in February 2015. He has published articles in the Canadian Journal of Political Science, the Canadian Parliamentary Review, The Table, and Ontario History. He was President of the Canadian Study of Parliament in 1990 and 1991
