Norman Spector
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Norman Spector (born 1949) is a Canadian journalist, diplomat, civil servant, and newspaper publisher.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Spector received a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Political Science, from McGill University in 1970. Awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, he received a Master of Philosophy degree in Political Science from Columbia University in 1972 and a Ph.D. in 1977. In 1974, as a Newhouse Fellow, he received a Master of Science degree in Television, Film and Radio from Syracuse University.
In 1974-75, Spector was a lecturer at St. Paul's College of the University of Ottawa. In 1975, he joined the Ontario civil service in the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and held the positions of Manager, Director, and Executive Director. In 1980, he joined the British Columbia civil service serving as Deputy Secretary, Policy for the Ministry of Intergovernmental Relations. From 1982 to 1986, he was Deputy Minister in Bill Bennett's Office of the Premier. From 1986 to 1990, he was Secretary to the Cabinet for Federal-Provincial Relations in Ottawa. From 1990 to 1992, he was Brian Mulroney's Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister.
From 1992 to 1995, he was Ambassador of Canada to Israel, the first Jewish Canadian to hold the post, and High Commissioner to Cyprus. After the Oslo peace agreement was signed in 1994, he became Canada's first Representative to the Palestinian Authority in Gaza. From 1995 to 1996, he was President of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, a federal government agency which helps the economy of Atlantic Canadian communities. Resigning from the public service in 1996, he became Vice-President, Corporate Affairs for Imperial Tobacco Limited in September of that year. In January 1997, he was appointed Publisher of The Jerusalem Post.
Since 1995, he has been writing for The Globe and Mail, and he currently writes a bi-weekly column in French for Le Devoir. He published a book, Chronicle of a War Foretold: How Mideast Peace Became America’s Fight in 2003 and, a year later, wrote the Afterword to William Kaplan's "A Secret Trial."
In 2006, he made controversial statements about the comments Peter MacKay allegedly made in the House of Commons regarding Belinda Stronach. On Stronach, Spector told CKNW's Bill Good during the Monday, October 30, live radio broadcast that it was offensive to call a woman a dog, as MacKay was alleged to have done, and he continued [1], "You know, I'm not in politics, I can say it, I think she's a bitch and I think that 90 per cent of men would probably say she's a bitch, for the way she's broken up [former Toronto Maple Leafs hockey player] Tie Domi's home and the way she dumped Peter MacKay. She is a bitch." He also stated, "I think this word [bitch] is perfect, and it's in the Oxford Dictionary to describe a 'treacherous and malicious woman'. It's the perfect word to describe Belinda Stronach."[2]
[edit] References
- Canadian Who's Who entry. Retrieved on April 17, 2006.
- The Globe and Mail's biography. Retrieved on April 17, 2006.
- Maclean's Spector, Norman (Profile). Retrieved on April 17, 2006.
- ^ Audio: Norman Spector on 'The Bill Good Show'- CKNW 980 Vancouver October 30, 2006
- ^ Spector on Stronach: 'She's a bitch'
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Stanley Hartt |
Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister's Office 1990–1992 |
Succeeded by Hugh Segal |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by Michael Dougall Bell |
Canadian Ambassador to Israel 1992–1995 |
Succeeded by David Berger |
| Preceded by Michael Dougall Bell |
Canadian High Commissioner to Cyprus 1992–1995 |
Succeeded by Alexandra Bugailiskis |
