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Lester Pearson

The Right Honourable
Lester B. Pearson
OM CC OBE PC PC
Lester B. Pearson 1957.jpg
Pearson in 1957
14th Prime Minister of Canada
In office
22 April 1963 (1963-04-22) – 20 April 1968 (1968-04-20)
Monarch Elizabeth II
Governor General Georges Vanier
Roland Michener
Preceded by John Diefenbaker
Succeeded by Pierre Trudeau
Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada
In office
16 January 1958 (1958-01-16) – 6 April 1968 (1968-04-06)
Preceded by Louis St. Laurent
Succeeded by Pierre Trudeau
Leader of the Opposition
In office
16 January 1958 (1958-01-16) – 22 April 1963 (1963-04-22)
Monarch Elizabeth II
Prime Minister John Diefenbaker
Preceded by Louis St. Laurent
Succeeded by John Diefenbaker
8th Secretary of State for External Affairs
In office
10 September 1948 (1948-09-10) – 20 June 1957 (1957-06-20)
Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King
Louis St. Laurent
Preceded by Louis St. Laurent
Succeeded by John Diefenbaker
2nd Canadian Ambassador to the United States
In office
1944–1946
Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King
Preceded by Leighton McCarthy
Succeeded by H. H. Wrong
8th President of the United Nations General Assembly
In office
1952
Preceded by Luis Padilla Nervo
Succeeded by Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Algoma East
In office
25 October 1948 (1948-10-25) – 23 April 1968 (1968-04-23)
Preceded by Thomas Farquhar
Succeeded by None (district abolished)
Personal details
Born Lester Bowles Pearson
(1897-04-23)23 April 1897
Newtonbrook, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died 27 December 1972(1972-12-27) (aged 75)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Resting place MacLaren Cemetery, Wakefield, Quebec
Nationality Canadian
Political party Liberal
Spouse(s) Maryon Pearson (m. 1925)
Children Geoffrey Pearson, Patricia Pearson
Education
Profession Diplomat, historian, soldier
Awards Nobel Prize for Peace (1957)
Signature
Military service
Nickname(s) "Mike"
Allegiance Canada
Service/branch
Years of service 1915–18
Rank
Battles/wars First World War

Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson OM CC OBE PC PC (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, soldier and diplomat, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis. He was the 14th Prime Minister of Canada from 22 April 1963 to 20 April 1968, as the head of two back-to-back Liberal minority governments following elections in 1963 and 1965.

During Pearson's time as Prime Minister, his Liberal minority governments introduced universal health care, student loans, the Canada Pension Plan, the Order of Canada, and the Maple Leaf flag. His Liberal government also unified Canada's armed forces. Pearson convened the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, and he kept Canada out of the Vietnam War. In 1967, his government passed Bill C-168, which abolished de facto capital punishment in Canada by restricting it to a few capital offenses for which it was never used, and which themselves were abolished in 1976. With these accomplishments, together with his groundbreaking work at the United Nations and in international diplomacy, Pearson is generally considered among the most influential Canadians of the 20th century and is ranked among the top six greatest Canadian Prime Ministers.


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