Lester B. Pearson

The Right Honourable Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, CC, OM, OBE (April 23, 1897 – December 27, 1972) was a Canadian statesman, diplomat and politician who was made a Nobel Laureate in 1957 and served as the fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada from April 22, 1963, to April 20, 1968.

Early career

After Oxford, he returned to Canada and taught history at the University of Toronto. He then embarked on a career in the Department of External Affairs. He had a distinguished career as a diplomat, including playing an important part in founding both the United Nations and NATO. During World War II, he once served as a courier with the codename "Mike". He was appointed Secretary of State for External Affairs in the government of Liberal Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent in 1948. Pearson won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons, for the federal riding of Algoma East shortly afterward. In 1957, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in defusing the Suez Crisis through the United Nations. The selection committee claimed that Pearson had "saved the world". The United Nations Peacekeeping Force was Pearson's creation, and he is considered the father of the modern concept of peacekeeping.

Related Topics:
Department of External Affairs - United Nations - NATO - World War II - Liberal - Prime Minister - Louis St. Laurent - 1948 - Canadian House of Commons - Algoma East - 1957 - Nobel Peace Prize - Suez Crisis - United Nations Peacekeeping Force - Peacekeeping

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