| Joseph Gilles André Couvrette | |
| Birth Date: | 15 January 1934 |
| Birth Place: | Outremont, Quebec, Canada |
| Death Place: | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation: | Diplomat |
| Spouse: | Micheline Couvrette |
| Children: | 4 |
| Office1: | Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Greece |
| Term Start1: | 29 March 1985 |
| Term End1: | 16 August 1989 |
| Predecessor1: | Edward Henry Woodford |
| Successor1: | Ernest Hébert |
| Monarch1: | Elizabeth II |
| Primeminister1: | Brian Mulroney |
| Office2: | Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Sweden |
| Term Start2: | 5 February 1981 |
| Term End2: | 9 December 1983 |
| Predecessor2: | Kenneth Charles Brown |
| Successor2: | William Thomas Delworth |
| Monarch2: | Elizabeth II |
| Primeminister2: | Pierre Trudeau |
| Office3: | 5th Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Jordan |
| Term Start3: | 31 August 1977 |
| Term End3: | 1 December 1978 |
| Successor3: | Théodore Jean Arcand |
| Monarch3: | Elizabeth II |
| Primeminister3: | Pierre Trudeau |
| Office4: | Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Lebanon |
| Term Start4: | 31 August 1977 |
| Term End4: | 27 September 1978 |
| Predecessor4: | Howard Barham Singleton |
| Successor4: | Théodore Jean Arcand |
| Monarch4: | Elizabeth II |
| Primeminister4: | Pierre Trudeau |
| Office5: | Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Syria |
| Term Start5: | 31 August 1977 |
| Term End5: | 27 September 1978 |
| Predecessor5: | Howard Barham Singleton |
| Successor5: | Théodore Jean Arcand |
| Order5: | 5th |
| Monarch5: | Elizabeth II |
| Primeminister5: | Pierre Trudeau |
| Office6: | 1st Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Cabo Verde |
| Term Start6: | 20 July 1976 |
| Term End6: | 23 July 1977 |
| Predecessor6: | Office established |
| Successor6: | Jacques J.A. Asselin |
| Monarch6: | Elizabeth II |
| Primeminister6: | Pierre Trudeau |
| Office7: | 1st Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Guinea-Bissau |
| Term Start7: | 24 April 1975 |
| Term End7: | 23 July 1977 |
| Predecessor7: | Office established |
| Successor7: | Jacques J.A. Asselin |
| Monarch7: | Elizabeth II |
| Primeminister7: | Pierre Trudeau |
| Office8: | 5th Canadian High Commissioner to The Gambia |
| Term Start8: | 10 June 1974 |
| Term End8: | 1977 |
| Predecessor8: | Raoul Jean Grenier |
| Successor8: | Jacques J.A. Asselin |
| Monarch8: | Elizabeth II |
| Primeminister8: | Pierre Trudeau |
| Office9: | 8th Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Guinea |
| Term Start9: | 10 June 1974 |
| Term End9: | 1977 |
| Predecessor9: | Raoul Jean Grenier |
| Successor9: | Jacques J.A. Asselin |
| Monarch9: | Elizabeth II |
| Primeminister9: | Pierre Trudeau |
| Office10: | 4th Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Mali |
| Term Start10: | 10 June 1974 |
| Term End10: | 16 June 1976 |
| Predecessor10: | Raoul Jean Grenier |
| Successor10: | Michel de Goumois |
| Monarch10: | Elizabeth II |
| Primeminister10: | Pierre Trudeau |
| Office11: | 4th Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Mauritania |
| Term Start11: | 10 June 1974 |
| Term End11: | 23 July 1977 |
| Predecessor11: | Raoul Jean Grenier |
| Successor11: | Jacques J.A. Asselin |
| Monarch11: | Elizabeth II |
| Primeminister11: | Pierre Trudeau |
| Office12: | 6th Canadian Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Senegal |
| Term Start12: | 10 June 1974 |
| Term End12: | 23 July 1977 |
| Predecessor12: | Raoul Jean Grenier |
| Successor12: | Gabriel-Marie Frédéric Lessard |
| Monarch12: | Elizabeth II |
| Primeminister12: | Pierre Trudeau |
Joseph Gilles André Couvrette (15 January 1934 – 31 December 2020) was a Canadian diplomat who held several international postings.
He served as Canada’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to various countries, as well as High Commissioner to The Gambia.[1]
Couvrette was born on 15 January 1934 in Outremont, Quebec, Canada, to businessman and former mayor of Outremont, Bernard Couvrette, and Myrielle Chartrand.[2] He later married Micheline Couvrette, with whom he had four children: Louis, Michel, Anne-Marie, and Philippe.[2]
Couvrette’s diplomatic career began in 1959 with his first posting to Rome, Italy, where he served until 1962. He subsequently held assignments in Lagos, Nigeria (1965–1967), and Paris, France (1967–1968).[2] His first ambassadorship was in Dakar, Senegal, where he was accredited to multiple countries, including Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Cape Verde, and Guinea-Bissau.[1] He was then appointed Ambassador to Beirut, Lebanon, concurrently serving as ambassador to Jordan and Syria.[1] Later assignments included ambassadorial roles in Stockholm, Sweden, and Athens, Greece,[1] marking the end of his international career.[2]
In Canada, Couvrette held prominent roles, including Chief of Protocol and Assistant Under Secretary of State for External Affairs, where he oversaw diplomatic protocols and international relations.
Couvrette dies on 31 December 2020, at the age of 86, at the Hôpital Élizabeth-Bruyère in Ottawa.[2] His family held a visitation at the Complexe Alfred Dallaire Memoria on 8 January 2021, with a funeral at St-Viateur d'Outremont Church on a later date.[2]