Lester B. Pearson

The Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson PC OM CC OBE
Portrait, c. 1963
14th Prime Minister of Canada
In office 22 April 1963 (1963-04-22) – 20 April 1968 (1968-04-20)
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governors General	Georges Vanier Roland Michener
Preceded by	John Diefenbaker
Succeeded by	Pierre Trudeau
Leader of the Liberal Party
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)
Prime Minister	John Diefenbaker
Preceded by	Louis St. Laurent
Succeeded by	John Diefenbaker
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
6th Ambassador of Canada to the United States
In office July 1944 (1944-07) – September 1946 (1946-09)
Prime Minister	W. L. Mackenzie King
Preceded by	Leighton McCarthy
Succeeded by	H. H. Wrong
7th President of the United Nations General Assembly
In office 14 October 1952 (1952-10-14) – 23 April 1953 (1953-04-23)
Preceded by	Luis Padilla Nervo
Succeeded by	Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Member of Parliament for Algoma East
In office 25 October 1948 (1948-10-25) – 25 June 1968 (1968-06-25)
Preceded by	Thomas Farquhar
Succeeded by	Riding dissolved
Personal details
Born	Lester Bowles Pearson (1897-04-23)23 April 1897 Newtonbrook, Ontario, Canada
Died	27 December 1972(1972-12-27) (aged 75) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Resting place	Maclaren Cemetery, Wakefield, Quebec
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Maryon Moody ​ (m. 1925)​
Children	2, including Geoffrey
Education	University of Toronto (BA) St John's College, Oxford (BA, MA)
Profession	Diplomat historian soldier
Awards	Nobel Peace Prize (1957)
Signature
Nickname	Mike
Military service
Allegiance	Canada
Branch/service	Canadian Expeditionary Force Permanent Active Militia Royal Flying Corps
Years of service	1915–1918
Rank	Lieutenant Flying Officer
Battles/wars	World War I

Lester Bowles Pearson PC OM CC OBE (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian politician, diplomat, statesman, and scholar who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. He also served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1958 to 1968 and leader of the Official Opposition from 1958 to 1963.

Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of Toronto), Pearson pursued a career in the Department of External Affairs and served as Canada's ambassador to the United States from 1944 to 1946. He entered politics in 1948 as Secretary of State for External Affairs, serving in that position until 1957 in the governments of William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent. In addition, Pearson was the seventh president of the United Nations General Assembly from 1952 to 1953. He was a candidate to become secretary-general of the United Nations in 1953, but was vetoed by the Soviet Union. He later won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis, which earned him attention worldwide. After the Liberals were defeated in the 1957 federal election, Pearson won the leadership of the Liberal Party in 1958. Pearson suffered two consecutive defeats by Progressive Conservative Prime Minister John Diefenbaker in 1958 and 1962, only to successfully challenge him for a third time in the 1963 federal election. Pearson would win re-election in 1965.

Pearson ran two back-to-back minority governments during his tenure as prime minister, and the Liberals not having a majority in the House of Commons meant he needed support from the opposition parties. With that support, Pearson launched progressive policies such as the Canada Labour (Safety) Code,^[1] universal health care, the Canada Student Loan Program, and the Canada Pension Plan. He introduced the Royal Commissions on Bilingualism and Biculturalism and the Status of Women, established the Order of Canada, and unified the Canadian Armed Forces. His government also oversaw the creation of the Maple Leaf flag in 1965 and the Canadian Centennial celebrations in 1967. In foreign policy, Pearson signed the Auto Pact with the United States and kept Canada out of the Vietnam War. Under his leadership, Canada became the first country in the world to implement a points-based immigration system. After a half-decade in power, Pearson resigned as prime minister and retired from politics.

With his government programs and policies, together with his groundbreaking work at the United Nations and in international diplomacy, which included his role in ending the Suez Crisis, Pearson is generally considered among the most influential Canadians of the 20th century and is ranked among the greatest Canadian prime ministers.^[2][3]