Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Léo Richer LaFlèche, (April 16, 1888 – March 7, 1956) 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 ...

general, civil servant, diplomat, and politician. Léo Richer La Flèche was born in

Concordia, Kansas Concordia is a city in and the county seat of Cloud County, Kansas, Cloud County, Kansas, United States. It is located along the Republican River in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains in North Central Kansas. As of the 2020 United State ...

, on April 16, 1888. The same year, with his parents, Léo moved to Sorel, Quebec, because of his father's work in Ottawa as a civil servant. Leo managed the Molson Bank in Ville St-Pierre until the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He served with the Royal

22nd Battalion, CEF The 22nd Battalion (French Canadian), CEF, was a battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in the Great War. * History The battalion was authorized on 7 November 1914 and embarked for Great Britain on 20 May 1915. It disembarked in France ...

, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, as an infantry officer, where he was severely wounded. On June 17, 1916, a soldier in Léo's battalion noticed him lying in a field, left for dead. He and four other soldiers transported the dying officer on a stretcher as they crossed a battlefield under German artillery fire. The General in charge spotted the heroic act and as a result, the five soldiers were each awarded a Military Medal. In 1917, Léo was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

and the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

of France for his service. He later became a lieutenant-colonel commanding the District Depot No. 4, Montreal which consisted of roughly 70,000 men. He would achieve the rank of major general. He co-founded the

Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian ex-service organization (veterans' organization) founded in 1925. Membership includes people who have served as military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial and municipal police, Royal ...

in 1925 and became dominion president of the Canadian Legion in 1929. From 1932 to 1939, he was Deputy Minister of

National Defence National security, or national defence, is the security and Defence (military), defence of a sovereign state, including its Citizenship, citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as p ...

, Vice-Chairman Defence Council and briefly served as military attaché to Paris before the German invasion. From 1940 to 1942, he was the associate deputy minister of War Services and was chairman of the

National Film Board The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary fi ...

from 1941 to 1943. In 1941, he received an honorary LL.D. from the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (french: Université d'Ottawa), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ottawa ...

. He was elected as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

for the Quebec electoral district of

Outremont Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by franc ...

in a by-election on November 30, 1942, called after the MP at the time, Thomas Vien, resigned. He defeated future mayor of Montreal

Jean Drapeau Jean Drapeau, (18 February 1916 – 12 August 1999) was Mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986. Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include the development of the Montreal Metro entirely underground mass transi ...

who was running for the Bloc Populaire. Later that year, Prime minister

Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

named him Minister of National War Services. He remained in this role until he became the first Canadian ambassador to Greece on April 17, 1945, a post he kept until 1949. On October 20, 1949, he presented his credentials to the governor general of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

as the new high commissioner of Canada. On August 19, 1952, he also held this position in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina, as he officially took his post as the Canadian ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary in charge of the diplomatic relations with neighbouring

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. He returned to Canada in 1955. He died the next year at the age of 67. His grave is in the

Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery (french: Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges) is a rural cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada which was founded in 1854. The entrance and the grounds run a ...

of Montreal.

References

External links

*
Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richer La Fleche, Leo 1888 births 1956 deaths Military attachés 20th-century Canadian civil servants Ambassadors of Canada to Argentina Ambassadors of Canada to Greece Ambassadors of Canada to Uruguay Canadian generals Canadian Expeditionary Force officers Canadian Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Legion of Honour Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada High Commissioners of Canada to Australia People from Concordia, Kansas Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Canadian military personnel of World War I Canadian Army generals of World War II Royal 22nd Regiment officers Military personnel from Kansas