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OTTAWA — Veteran judge and former Mulroney cabinet minister Pierre Blais has been appointed chief justice of the Federal Court of Appeal, replacing John D. Richard, who retired July 30.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement today.

Blais, a former justice minister who has been serving as a judge of the Federal Court of Appeal, was first appointed to the Federal Court in June 1998 and the appeals court last year.

He was first elected to the House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative MP in 1984 after practising law with the Quebec City firm of Morin, Lemieux, Blais.

He was re-elected in 1988 and served in multiple junior cabinet roles under then-prime minister Brian Mulroney before he was given the justice portfolio in 1993.

Blais received a Bachelor of Arts in 1968 and Bachelor of Laws in 1976, both from Laval University.

He was admitted to the Barreau du Quebec in 1977.