Geoffrey Arthur Holland Pearson, (December 24, 1927 – March 18, 2008) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or interna ...

and author. He was the son of former

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

and

Maryon Pearson Maryon Elspeth Pearson (née Moody; December 13, 1901 – December 26, 1989) was the wife of Lester B. Pearson, the 14th Prime Minister of Canada."Maryon Pearson spoke her mind". ''Toronto Star'', December 18, 1989. It was reportedly also at M ...

Biography

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Pearson was educated at

Trinity College School Trinity College School (TCS) is a co-educational, independent boarding and day school located in Port Hope, Ontario, Canada. TCS was founded on May 1, 1865, more than two years before Canadian Confederation. It includes a Senior School ...

Port Hope, Ontario Port Hope is a municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, approximately east of Toronto and about west of Kingston. It is located at the mouth of the Ganaraska River on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in the west end of Northumberland County. ...

, the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, and the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. Pearson joined the Department of External Affairs (now called

Global Affairs Canada Global Affairs Canada (GAC; french: Affaires mondiales Canada; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the department ...

) in 1952, being the second of three members of his family to serve in Canada's diplomatic service. His father was

Secretary of State for External Affairs The Minister of Foreign Affairs (french: Ministre des Affaires étrangères) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the Government of Canada's international relations and is the lead minister respo ...

and his son, Michael, would be a senior civil servant. He held diplomatic appointments at the Canadian embassies in Paris and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, and at the high commission in New Delhi. From 1980 to 1983, he served as Canada's ambassador to the Soviet Union. He was also Ambassador to Mongolia from 1980 to 1981. In late 1983, Pearson was appointed as a special representative for arms control to then-

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

, and in 1984 he was seconded to the

Canadian Institute of International Affairs The Canadian International Council (CIC; french: Conseil international du Canada, link=no) is a Canadian think tank on foreign relations. It is an independent, member-based council established to strengthen Canada's role in international affairs. ...

. In January 1985, he was appointed as the first executive director of the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security, where he served for six years. In 1996, his book ''Seize the Day'' was published, chronicling his father's diplomatic legacy. Pearson was a past president of the

United Nations Association in Canada The United Nations Association in Canada (UNA-Canada) is an historic, national charitable organization providing the leading policy voice on multilateralism in Canada. Established in 1946, UNA-Canada was a founding member of the World Federation of ...

. In 2000, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. Pearson died in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, on March 18, 2008. He is survived by his wife,

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Landon Pearson Landon Carter "Lucy" Pearson, (born November 16, 1930) is a Canadian former Canadian Senator and a children's rights advocate. She is the daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, through her marriage to his son Geoffrey Pear ...

(served 1994–2005), and their five children—

Patricia Patricia is a female given name of Latin language, Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''Patrician (ancient Rome), patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick (given name), Patrick. The name Patr ...

, Michael, Hilary, Anne, and Katherine.

Published works

Notes

References

* ''Obituary: Geoffrey Pearson 1927-2008 Diplomat elevated Canada's UN role'',

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

, March 20, 2008 pp A24
Obituary Geoffrey Pearson, 80.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Geoffrey 1927 births 2008 deaths Canadian people of Anglo-Irish descent Children of prime ministers of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Writers from Toronto University of Toronto alumni Ambassadors of Canada to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Canada to Mongolia Alumni of New College, Oxford Geoffrey Canadian biographers Canadian male non-fiction writers Male biographers 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian political writers 20th-century biographers