Housakos appointed as new speaker of Canadian senate

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Monday announced the appointment of Leo Housakos the new speaker of the Senate of Canada.

"I am confident that Senator Housakos will be an excellent speaker of the senate and that he will carry on the fine work of former Speaker Pierre Claude Nolin, whose recent passing we continue to mourn," said Harper in a statement.

Housakos, 47, was appointed acting speaker of the Canadian upper chamber on April 24, following the death of Pierre Claude Nolin, who died of cancer at the age of 64.

The new speaker graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1992 and has been actively involved in Canada' s political and business sectors for more than 25 years.

Housakos, born on January 1968 in Montreal, is a Canadian politician of Greek descent and a conservative senator from Quebec province. He was appointed to the Senate by Harper in December 2008.