leadership election. Earlier in 2011, Rae was voted Maclean's'' Parliamentarian of the Year by members of the 41st Parliament. Journalist Carol Goar viewed Rae as the de facto leader of the Opposition in the six months between the death of NDP leader Jack Layton in August 2011 and the election of Thomas Mulcair in March 2012. When Justin Trudeau was elected the new permanent leader in April 2013, Rae had become the longest serving interim leader, having served almost two years in this capacity. As new leader, Trudeau named Rae the Liberal party's foreign affairs critic. When Justin Trudeau won the 2015 elections and became Prime Minister, Rae was given considerable credit for laying the foundations for the turnaround in the fortunes of the Liberal Party. Post-political career On June 19, 2013, Rae announced that he would be leaving parliament in order to serve as chief negotiator and counsel for the Matawa First Nations in Northern Ontario's Ring of Fire; his resignation took effect on July 31. Rae also joined the University of Toronto School of Public Policy and Governance as a distinguished senior fellow, effective July 1, 2013. On July 13, Rae joined the National Advisory Board for Fair Vote Canada, an organization promoting electoral reform for Canadian elections. Later in July, Rae became the chairman of the board for the FN (PTP) Group Limited Partnership (FNLP), which represents the 15 British Columbian First Nations that signed a $200 million commercial deal with the Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership, a part of the Kitimat LNG Project that plans to use a pipeline to move liquified natural gas to a terminal on the coast of British Columbia. In February 2014, Rae became a partner in the law firm Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP, a law firm which specializes in representing Aboriginal communities across the country. After stepping down, Rae has also become a public speaker focusing on Canada's role in the world, Aboriginal issues, human rights, healthcare, and education. In August 2018, Saudi Arabia expelled Canada's ambassador, and froze trade with Canada. Rae wrote on Twitter: "The Brits and the Trumpians run for cover and say 'we're friends with both the Saudis and the Canadians. Thanks for the support for human rights, guys, and we'll remember this one for sure." Diplomatic career In late 2017, Prime Minister Trudeau appointed Rae Canada's special envoy to Myanmar in response to the Rohingya human