George Ignatieff
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George Ignatieff (Russian: Георг Игнатьев), CC, MA, DCL (December 16, 1913 - August 10, 1989) was a Canadian diplomat and was the recipient of the 1984 Pearson Medal of Peace for his work in international service.
He was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, the youngest of five sons, to a distinguished Russian family. His mother was Princess Natasha Mestchersky and his father was Count Paul Ignatieff, a close advisor to Tsar Nicholas II serving as his last Minister of Education. In 1918, the year after the Russian Revolution, Ignatieff was arrested and slated for execution but fled to Canada with his family after he was released by sympathetic guards.
George Ignatieff was educated at Canadian universities before obtaining a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford. In 1940 he joined the Department of External Affairs and served at various posts including as Ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1956 to 1958, permanent representative to NATO (1963-1966), Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations (1966-1969) and president of the United Nations Security Council (1968-1969). In 1984 he was appointed disarmament ambassador by Prime Minister John Turner. He also 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').
He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1973.
Ignatieff's autobiography, The Making of a Peacemonger, was published in 1985 by the University of Toronto Press.
His son, Michael Ignatieff, is a well known author, broadcaster and scholar who was elected to the Canadian parliament in 2006 and serves as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was a Liberal leadership candidate in 2006.
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| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Pierre Tremblay |
Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations July 1966–February 1969 |
Succeeded by Yvon Beaulne |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by Derwyn R. G. Owen |
Provost of the University of Trinity College 1972–1978 |
Succeeded by F. Kenneth Hare |
| Preceded by Arthur B. B. Moore |
Chancellor of the University of Toronto 1980–1986 |
Succeeded by John Black Aird |
