George Ignatieff, Canadian Association executive. Recipient Pearson Peace prize, 1984. Fellow Royal Society Canada.
Background
Ignatieff was born in Saint St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, the youngest of five sons, to a distinguished Russian family. His mother was Princess Natalia Nikolayevna Meshcherskaya and his father was Count Paul Ignatieff, a close advisor to Tsar Nicholas II serving as his last Minister of Education.
Education
Bachelor of Arts, University Toronto, 1936;
Master of Arts (Rhodes scholar), New College, Oxford, England, 1938;
honorary Doctor of Laws, Brock U., 1967;
honorary Doctor of Laws, U. Toronto, 1968;
honorary Doctor of Laws, U. Guelph, 1969;
honorary Doctor of Laws, U. Saskatchewan, 1973;
honorary Doctor of Laws, York University, 1975;
honorary Doctor of Laws, Mount Allison U., 1978;
Doctor of Civil Law (honorary), Bishop's U., 1973;
Doctor of Literature (honorary), University Victoria College, 1977;
D.S.L. (honorary), University St. Michael's College, 1986.
Career
His career spanned nearly five decades in World World War II and the postwar period. In 1918, the year after the Russian Revolution, Count Ignatieff was imprisoned, but his release was negotiated by sympathetic supporters. The family fled to France, and later moved to Canada.
With the advent of war, Ignatieff joined the Royal Artillery, where he worked in photographic intelligence.
In 1940 he joined the Canadian Department of External Affairs. Ignatieff also served as the wartime Canadian delegate to the International Red Cross.
Ignatieff was a key figure in Canadian diplomacy and international relations through the postwar period. He was Ambassador to Yugoslavia (1956–1958), permanent representative to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1963–1966), Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations (1966–1969) and president of the United Nations Security Council (1968–1969).
In 1984 Ignatieff was appointed Ambassador for Disarmament by Prime Minister John Turner.
Ignatieff was unimpressed by the foreign policy of the Trudeau governments of the 1970s and 1980s, and was unafraid to provoke government functionaries. He advocated cautious realignment of Canadian defence policy, and a complete nuclear test ban. Like his mentor Pearson, Ignatieff believed in the interdependence of nations, and had an acute prescience for the impending threats of terror, economic breakdown, and environmental degradation.
Ignatieff served as Provost of the University of Trinity College from 1972 to 1979, and later as chancellor of the University of Toronto from 1980 to 1986.
The University of Trinity College"s theatre is named after Ignatieff, and is fondly known as the GIT (pronounced "jit"). George Ignatieff has been described as the "best Governor General (Canada) never had".
His autobiography, The Making of a Peacemonger, was published in 1985 by the University of Toronto Press.
Achievements
Membership
Fellow Royal Society Canada.
Connections
Married Alison Grant, November 17, 1945. Children: Michael Grant, Andrew Grant.
Companion of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada; Pearson Medal of Peace
The Pearson Medal of Peace is an award given out annually by the United Nations Association in Canada to recognize an individual Canadian's 'contribution to international service'.; The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is the second highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada.
The Pearson Medal of Peace is an award given out annually by the United Nations Association in Canada to recognize an individual Canadian's 'contribution to international service'.; The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is the second highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada.