Ivan Leigh Head (July 28, 1930 – November 1, 2004) was a Canadian lawyer, legal scholar, and civil servant. He was an influential foreign policy adviser of Prime Minister

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 ...

. Born in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, he received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1951 and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree in 1952 from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

. He was called to the Bar of Alberta in 1953 and was created a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1974. He practiced law in Calgary from 1953 to 1959. He was then awarded

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

's Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship and received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1960. From 1960 to 1963, he was a foreign service officer with the

Department of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

working 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 ...

, and

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. In 1963, he was appointed an associate professor of law at the University of Alberta. He was appointed a full professor in 1967. In 1967, he was an associate counsel to Pierre Trudeau, the minister of justice, for constitutional matters. In 1968, he was the legal assistant to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In 1970, he was named special assistant with special responsibility for advice on foreign policy and conduct of foreign relations. From 1978 to 1991, he was the president of the International Development Research Centre. In 1991, he was appointed a professor of law at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

and was the founding director of UBC's

Liu Institute for Global Issues The Liu Institute for Global Issues is a research organization at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded by Professor Ivan Head in 1998, the institute officially opened in 2000. The institute is na ...

. He co-authored with Pierre Trudeau the book ''The Canadian Way: Shaping Canada’s Foreign Policy 1968–1984'' (McClelland & Stewart, 1995, ) and was the author of ''On a Hinge of History: The Mutual Vulnerability of South and North'' (University of Toronto Press, ). In 1990, 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 ...

. He was married to Ann and had four children. He died of cancer in Vancouver in 2004.

Selected publications

* * * *

References

*
University of British Columbia profile

Canadian Who's Who 1997 entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Head, Ivan 1930 births 2004 deaths 20th-century Canadian civil servants Canadian diplomats Canadian legal scholars Deaths from cancer in British Columbia Harvard Law School alumni International law scholars Officers of the Order of Canada People from Calgary University of Alberta alumni University of Alberta faculty University of British Columbia faculty Canadian King's Counsel