Walter Slipchenko was born in Winnipeg in 1934 and grew up in that city. He attended the Canadian Military College at Royal Roads, Victoria, BC, and the Royal Military College (RMC), Kingston, ON, becoming an officer in the Royal Canadian Engineers. Upon leaving the military, he graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Masters in Arts in 1966 before joining the federal public service in Ottawa. Walter had a distinguished 35-year career in the public service within the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (DIAND) and the Government of Northwest Territories, focused on Aboriginal affairs and Canada's circumpolar relations. He was instrumental in developing Canada's cooperation with other circumpolar states, and nurturing agreements with Russia on the Arctic. Moreover, apart from his bilateral engagement, at the multilateral level he was involved in supporting former Ambassador Mary Simon's leadership in the establishment of the Arctic Council in 1996, and served as Executive Director of the Arctic Council Secretariat during Canada's chairmanship in 1996-1998. He was unwavering in his support of Indigenous peoples throughout the circumpolar world. Walter Slipchenko died in 2016.