Keith Spicer, born in Toronto, taught political science at several universities, including the University of Toronto, UCLA, Dartmouth College (N.H.) and the Sorbonne (Paris III). He was a Canadian newspaper, magazine, radio and TV journalist for 30 years, working as an editorial-writer at the Toronto Globe and Mail, editor-in-chief of the Ottawa Citizen, and syndicated political columnist. He hosted radio and TV shows on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio-Canada, Radio-Québec and TV Ontario.
His public-service jobs included being Canada’s first national Commissioner of Official Languages (ombudsman for language rights), Chairman of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (national regulatory body), and Chairman of the constitution-related Citizens’ Forum on Canada’s Future.
After moving to Paris permanently in 1996, he consulted on Internet strategies for Ernst & Young. Then he founded the Institute for Media, Peace and Security of the UN-linked University for Peace (Costa Rica), where he still occasionally teaches. Since 2003, he has been the Ottawa Citizen’s Europe columnist and a member of the editorial board of Ilissos - Lettre sur la liberté en action.
He has written six books, one on international affairs, one on Quebec, two on corporate communications, one book of memoirs, and Paris Passions.