Lieutenant-General Frances Allen is the first woman appointed as the military’s second-in-command.

She recently served as Canada’s military representative to NATO headquarters in Brussels, and is the second  woman to have reached the rank of lieutenant-general in the Armed Forces.

Allen was seen as a possible contender to take over from General Jonathan Vance as Canada’s first woman chief of defence staff, however Admiral Art McDonald was selected.

Both Vance and McDonald face allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

Allen takes over as vice-chair from Lieutenant-General Mike Rouleau, who’s been given a newly-created role of strategic adviser to the acting Chief-of-Defence Staff, Lieutenant General Wayne Eyre.