OTTAWA – University of Waterloo president David Johnston will become the next governor general, the Queen and the prime minister announced Thursday.

The bilingual Ontario academic officially starts his new job Oct. 1, after Michaelle Jean’s term officially ends, Prime Minister Harper said in a statement.

“David Johnston represents the best of Canada,” Harper said. “He represents hard work, dedication, public service and humility.

“I am confident he will continue to embody these traits in his new role as the Crown’s representative in Canada.”

Johnston, 69, was selected by an advisory group of constitutional experts assembled by Harper in order to make the appointment less political, said PMO spokesman Dimitri Soudas.

The small group consulted hundreds of people across Canada over several weeks, and Johnston’s name quickly floated to the top, Soudas said.

Johnston shook hands with the Queen when she was in Toronto last week, but has not yet had a formal audience with her — even though the Queen visited Waterloo, and was well aware that Johnston was tapped to be her next representative in Canada.

Rather, the formal meeting will come this summer as Johnston prepares to take over from Jean.

Johnston was meeting with Harper, and was to give a public statement.

Research in Motion co-CEO and former UW chancellor Mike Lazaridis said Johnston’s keen understanding of the academic landscape in Canada and his leadership during a time of significant growth at the university will be tremendous assets.

“What I think David is going to bring — which is very strong — is his sense of the importance of education and higher education in the country along with research,” Lazaridis said. “He’s seen it first-hand happen in Waterloo and I think that is going to be a very important part of what he brings, in terms of his unique view of Canada and its potential worldwide.

The vast majority of the 69-year-old Johnston’s working years have been spent in academia, although he has had some interesting ties to the Canadian political scene.

In 1984, Johnston moderated a decisive televised debate between Brian Mulroney and John Turner during a federal election campaign. Four years later, he was named chair of the National Roundtable on Environment and the Economy, reporting to then-prime minister Mulroney.

In 2007, he was picked by Harper to set the terms of reference for a public inquiry into the relationship between Mulroney and business person Karlheinz Schreiber. Critics called the terms too restrictive, as they excluded dealings relating to the controversial Airbus purchase in 1988.

In 2000, Johnston chaired a national task force on high-speed broadband access, and in 2008, he headed a provincial panel on infertility and adoption.

His public service is seen as non-partisan, given his work for both Conservative and Liberal governments. A legal expert, Johnston is also well-versed in constitutional matters and the inner workings of Parliament Hill.