Pierre Juneau has been named Deputy Minister of Communications, as of April 1, 1980. He succeeds Bernard Ostry, deputy of the Department since February 1978, who has accepted a post in Paris as Special Advisor (Culture and Communications Technology) to the Under Secretary of State and Deputy Minister of Communications.

Mr. Juneau, who will continue to fulfill his responsibilities as Under Secretary of State in addition to the Communications post, was born in 1922 in the Montreal suburb of Verdun, Quebec. After classical studies at the College Sainte-Marie de Montréal, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. This was followed in 1947, by two years of study in Paris at the Sorbonne and the Institut catholique de Paris, where he obtained a licentiate in philosophy in 1949.

In 1949, Mr. Juneau embarked on almost 20 years of service with the National Film Board of Canada. From 1964 to 1966, he served as senior assistant to the Commissioner and Director of French­Language Production. While at the Board, he was mainly responsible for development of French­Language Production from a small unit to a full-fledged department.

In 1966, he was appointed Vice Chairman of the Board of Broadcast Governors and, in 1968, after proclamation of the new Broadcasting Act, he was appointed chairman of the Canadian Radio­television Commission (now the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission), a post he held for almost eight years.

In August 1975, the Prime Minister asked Mr. Juneau to become Minister of Communications in the federal Cabinet. He held this position until his defeat in a by­election in October of the same year. He then served as Advisor to the Prime Minister until 1976, when he was appointed Chairman of the National Capital Commission. In February 1978, Mr. Juneau was appointed Under Secretary of State.

Mr. Juneau is a member of the Royal Society of Canada. He holds an honorary degree from York University.

Mr. Juneau is married and the father of three children. His outside interests include tennis, music and reading.