Dean received a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and social anthropology from
University of Hull and a Master of Arts degree in sociology from
McMaster University. He worked for ten years in the public sector in
collective bargaining before joining the Ontario Public Service in 1989. He was Deputy Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister and Associate Secretary of Cabinet, Policy. In 2002, he was appointed by
Ontario Premier Ernie Eves Secretary of the Cabinet and Clerk of the Executive Council. Dean retired in 2008 and became a professor at the
University of Toronto’s
Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. He held this role until he was appointed to the Senate of Canada, at which point he became a Distinguished Fellow. In 2010, he was a senior research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. He advises governments, domestically and internationally, on public administration, public policy and implementation. Ontario Premier
Dalton McGuinty described him as "the ultimate public servant, exhibiting on a daily basis the drive to get things done, and the diplomacy required to have them done well". In 2009, he was made a member of the
Order of Ontario in recognition for having "transformed the Ontario Public Service". On October 31, 2016, Dean's appointment to the Senate of Canada was announced. He sits as an independent. ==References==