James Allan "Jim" Coutts, Master in Surgery was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and former advisor to two prime ministers.
Education
He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1960 and a law degree in 1961 from the University of Alberta and an Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School in 1968. After receiving his Master of Business Administration, he was a Consultant with McKinsey & Company from 1968 to 1970.
Career
Born in High River, Alberta, he was raised in Nanton, Alberta. He was called to Bar of Alberta in 1962. From 1961 to 1963, he practiced law in Calgary, Alberta.
From 1963 to 1966, he was a Secretary to Liberal Prime Minister Lester Pearson.
From 1975 to 1981, he was the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. In 1981, Trudeau appointed Liberal Member of Parliament Peter Stollery to the Senate so Coutts could run for the Canadian House of Commons in what was thought of as the safe Ontario riding of Spadina.
The plan backfired when Coutts narrowly lost to New Democrat Dan Heap despite personal interventions from Trudeau. Coutts ran again, but lost by a heavier margin in the 1984 election.
He subsequently left politics and entered business with an international career in industrial explosives.
He was a principal of Lowther Consultants Limited and the chairman and chief executive officer of Counter Intelligence Corps Canadian Investment Capital Limited. He was also a philanthropist and a major donor to the University of Lethbridge. Coutts died of cancer on December 31, 2013.