Pearson, Lester Bowles
Pearson, Lester Bowles (b. Newtonbrook, Toronto, 23 Apr. 1897; d. Ottawa, 27 Dec. 1972) Prime Minister of Canada 1963–8
After service in World War I and a brief flirtation with law Pearson became a history lecturer at the University of Toronto. He then joined the diplomatic service, gaining top marks in the entrance exam for his year. As a diplomat he was a member of Canadian delegations at a number of international conferences. He had a talent for diplomacy, helped to draw up theUnited Nations Charter, and rose to become Canadian ambassador to the United States (1945–6). He entered parliament as Secretary of State for External Affairs, serving under St Laurent. In 1948 King appointed Pearson as Secretary for External Affairs, in succession to St Laurent who now became Prime Minister. He formulated Canada's foreign-policy principles that were to be in place for the rest of the century: a commitment to NATO allied to a strong commitment to the UN as the best mechanism for international peace. Pearson held this post until 1957 and also headed the Canadian delegation to the United Nations. He received the Nobel Peace Prize for his mediating role in the 1956 Suez crisis when he refused to support the French-British invasion of the Suez Canal without UN approval. He was also annoyed that Canada, although a member of the Commonwealth, had not been consulted about the invasion.
In 1957 Pearson succeeded St Laurent as Liberal leader and led the party to a bad election defeat in 1958, which brought to an end its long spell of office. In the 1963 elections the party was expected to win by a large majority but instead Pearson was returned to head a minority Liberal government. He formed a second minority government after the 1965 elections. He was much criticized for his excessive loyalty to colleagues who showed political misjudgement or were tainted by scandals. On the positive side his ministry left behind a national Medicare plan, the Canada Pension Plan, and the new Canadian flag. He resigned in 1968 and was succeeded by Pierre Trudeau.
