Jules Léger
 Jules Léger    ( diplomat) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Born | April 4, 1913 Saint-Anicet, Quebec | |||||||||
| Died | November 22, 1980 (Age 67) Ottawa, Ontario | |||||||||
| Nationality | Canadian | |||||||||
| Alma mater | • Université de Montréal • Sorbonne | |||||||||
| Religion |  Catholic | |||||||||
| Siblings | Paul-Émile Léger | |||||||||
| Spouse | Gabrielle Léger | |||||||||
Canadian diplomat, including to NATO, who attended Bilderberg/1967
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Joseph Jules Léger was a Canadian diplomat who was appointed Governor General of Canada from 1974 to 1979. He attended the 1967 Bilderberg meeting.
Contents
Early life
Born in Saint-Anicet, Quebec, to Ernest and Alda (née Beauvais), Léger, along with his brother (and future cardinal), Paul-Émile, was raised in a devoutly religious family.
Education
After completing high school, Léger went on to the Collège de Valleyfield and then the Université de Montréal, where he completed a law degree. Léger subsequently enrolled at the Sorbonne in Paris, from which he was given a doctorate in 1938. The same year that, on August 13, he married Gabrielle Carmel, whom he had met at the University of Paris. The couple together had two daughters, Francine and Helene.
Career
When Léger returned to Canada at the end of 1938, he was hired as an associate editor of Le Droit in Ottawa, but remained there for only one year before he went on to become a professor of diplomatic history at the University of Ottawa until 1942. Simultaneously, Léger joined in 1940 the Department of External Affairs, and in just over 13 years received his first overseas diplomatic posting as Canada's ambassador to Mexico. After his retirement from that office on August 1, 1954,[1] he returned to Ottawa to act as under-secretary of state for external affairs, until, on September 25, 1958, he was commissioned as ambassador and permanent representative to the North Atlantic Council, occupying that post until 5 July 1962,[2] as well as the Canadian representative to the Organisation for European Economic Cooperation in Paris.
Then, from 1962 to 1964, Léger held the commission of ambassador to Italy,[3] and, from 1964 to 1968 was the ambassador to France.[4] It was during this time, in July 1967, that French president Charles de Gaulle visited Canada to attend Expo 67, and in Montreal gave his Vive le Québec libre speech. This event caused a diplomatic chill for many years between Canada and France; however, Léger attracted admiration for his subsequent sensitive handling of de Gaulle's policy towards Quebec.[5]
By 1968, Léger had returned to Canada's capital and was appointed as under-secretary of state, providing the administrative basis for Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson's foreign policy, and the policies on bilingualism and multiculturalism developed by the Cabinet chaired by Pearson's successor, Pierre Trudeau.[5] Léger left that position in 1972, and briefly was ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg between March 1973 and January 1974.[6][7] His daughter Francine died by suicide at the Canadian Embassy in 1968.
Governor General
He became Governor General of Canada on January 14, 1974, selected by Pierre Trudeau.[8]
Only six months later, just prior to a ceremony wherein he was to receive an honorary degree from the Université de Sherbrooke, Léger suffered a stroke, leaving him with impeded speech and a paralysed right arm. Though he returned to his viceregal duties not long after, presiding over an Order of Canada investiture in December 1974, his wife assisted him on many occasions, even reading parts of the Speech from the Throne in 1976 and 1978. Still, the Légers travelled across the country, encouraging Canadian unity at a time fraught with Quebec sovereignty disputes and perceived alienation by other regions,[9] as well promoting the fine arts and artistic endeavours, aided at such by their friendships with painters such as Jean Paul Lemieux, Alfred Pellan, and Jean Dallaire.[9]
He was known to write to the Queen on a monthly basis.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20091229100400/http://www.monarchist.ca/cmn/2009/Autumn_2009_CMN.pdf
Later life
After leaving Rideau Hall, the Légers continued to live in Ottawa. Léger died on November 22, 1980, and was survived by his wife and daughter.
Event Participated in
| Event | Start | End | Location(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bilderberg/1967 | 31 March 1967 | 2 April 1967 | UK Cambridge University/St John's College | Possibly the only Bilderberg meeting held in a university college rather than a hotel (St. John's College, Cambridge) |
References
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120322124624/http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/hp_search_results-en.asp?frm=post&lngId=1&cntryid=129
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120322124823/http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/hp_search_results-en.asp?frm=post&lngId=1&cntryid=148
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120322124843/http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/hp_search_results-en.asp?frm=post&lngId=1&cntryid=95
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120322124853/http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/hp_search_results-en.asp?frm=post&lngId=1&cntryid=67
- ↑ Jump up to: a b http://www.archontology.org/nations/canada/can_gg/leger.php
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120322124859/http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/hp_search_results-en.asp?frm=post&lngId=1&cntryid=18
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120322124913/http://www.international.gc.ca/department/history-histoire/hp_search_results-en.asp?frm=post&lngId=1&cntryid=117
- ↑ http://archive.gg.ca/gg/fgg/bios/01/leger_e.asp
- ↑ Jump up to: a b http://archive.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=55
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