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John George Diefenbaker

The Right Honourable
John Diefenbaker
PC CH QC
John G. Diefenbaker.jpg
13th Prime Minister of Canada
In office
June 21, 1957 – April 22, 1963
Monarch Elizabeth II
Governor-General Vincent Massey
Georges Vanier
Preceded by Louis St. Laurent
Succeeded by Lester Pearson
Personal details
Born John George Diefenbaker
(1895-09-18)September 18, 1895
Neustadt, Ontario, Canada
Died August 16, 1979(1979-08-16) (aged 83)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Cause of death heart attack
Resting place Outside the Diefenbaker Canada Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Political party Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s)
Children none
Education University of Saskatchewan (B.A., 1915; M.A., 1916)
Profession Lawyer
Signature A scrawled "J Diefenbaker"
Military service
Nickname(s) "Dief", "The Chief"
Allegiance Canada
Service/branch Canadian Army
Years of service 1916–1917
Rank Cdn-Army-Lt(OF-1A)-2014.svg Lieutenant
Unit 196th Battalion
Battles/wars First World War

John George Diefenbaker, PC, CH, QC (/ˈdfənˌbkər/; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 21, 1957 to April 22, 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative (PC or Tory) party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an election victory, doing so three times, although only once with a majority of seats in the Canadian House of Commons.

Diefenbaker was born in southwestern Ontario in 1895. In 1903, his family migrated west to the portion of the North-West Territories which would shortly thereafter become the province of Saskatchewan. He grew up in the province, and was interested in politics from a young age. After brief service in World War I, Diefenbaker became a noted criminal defence lawyer. He contested elections through the 1920s and 1930s with little success until he was finally elected to the House of Commons in 1940.

Diefenbaker was repeatedly a candidate for the PC leadership. He gained that party position in 1956, on his third attempt. In 1957, he led the Tories to their first electoral victory in 27 years; a year later he called a snap election and spearheaded them to one of their greatest triumphs. Diefenbaker appointed the first female minister in Canadian history to his Cabinet, as well as the first aboriginal member of the Senate. During his six years as Prime Minister, his government obtained passage of the Canadian Bill of Rights and granted the vote to the First Nations and Inuit peoples. In foreign policy, his stance against apartheid helped secure the departure of South Africa from the Commonwealth of Nations, but his indecision on whether to accept Bomarc nuclear missiles from the United States led to his government's downfall. Diefenbaker is also remembered for his role in the 1959 cancellation of the Avro Arrow project.


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