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Lester B. Pearson

Lester B Pearson
Lester B. Pearson, 1944
Personal data
Date of birth23 April 1897
Place of birthNewtonbrook, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Date of death27 December 1972(age 75)
Place of deathOttawa, Ontario
Political partyLiberal
SpouseMaryon Pearson
ChildrenGeoffrey, Patricia
Alma materUniversity of Toronto (B.A.)
University of Oxford (B.A.)
University of Oxford (M.A.)
ProfessionSoldier, Diplomat, Politician, Academic, Historian
ReligionMethodist, then United Church of Canada
AwardsNobel Peace Prize (1957)
14th Prime Minister of Canada
In office22 April 1963 - 20 April 1968
MonarchElizabeth II
Succeeded byPierre Trudeau
Preceded byJohn Diefenbaker
Leader of the Opposition
In office16 January 1958 - 22 April 1963
MonarchElizabeth II
Succeeded byJohn Diefenbaker
Preceded byLouis St. Laurent
8th Secretary of State for External Affairs
In office10 September 1948 - 20 June 1957
Prime ministerWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King
Succeeded byJohn Diefenbaker
Preceded byLouis St. Laurent
2nd Canadian Ambassador to the United States
In office1944 - 1946
Prime ministerWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King
Succeeded byH. H. Wrong
Preceded byLeighton McCarthy
8th President of the United Nations General Assembly
Assumed office1952
Succeeded byVijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Preceded byLuis Padilla Nervo

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Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, OM, CC, OBE (23 April 1897 � 27 December 1972) was a Canadian professor, historian, civil servant, statesman, diplomat, and politician, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis. He was the 14th Prime Minister of Canada from 22 April 1963, until 20 April 1968, as the head of two back-to-back minority governments following elections in 1963 and 1965.

During Pearson's time as Prime Minister, his minority government introduced universal health care, student loans, the Canada Pension Plan, the Order of Canada, and the current Canadian flag. During his tenure, Prime Minister Pearson also convened the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. With these accomplishments, together with his groundbreaking work at the United Nations and in international diplomacy, Pearson is generally considered among the most influential Canadians of the 20th century.


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