Milica "Mila" Mulroney (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...

: Милица "Мила" Пивнички; née Pivnički; born July 13, 1953) is the wife of the 18th

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 and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...

. She was notable for taking on a greater role during her husband's tenure than previous spouses of Canadian prime ministers, for her work for children's charities, and for criticism of her lavish spending habits.

Early life

Mulroney was born Milica Pivnički to

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* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

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parents Dimitrije "Mita" Pivnički and Bogdanka (née Ilić) in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

, PR Bosnia-Herzegovina,

FPR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...

. Her first years were spent in the city of Sarajevo where her father practised medicine. In 1956, Dr. Pivnički took a research fellowship position at the Royal Victoria Hospital's Allan Memorial Institute of Psychiatry in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. While his pregnant wife Bogdanka waited to join him, she moved with young Milica back to their hometown of Novi Bečej,

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. Finally, two years later, in 1958, she and their two children (five-year-old Milica and one-year-old Jovan) emigrated to Canada and joined Dimitrije in Montreal. Mila, the elder child, studied

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

, but did not graduate. At age 19, she married Brian Mulroney, then a 34-year-old lawyer, on May 26, 1973. Both were involved with the Progressive Conservatives (PC) in Westmount. They have one daughter,

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, and three sons,

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, Mark, and Nicolas. Their youngest child, Nicolas, was born while the family was living in

24 Sussex Drive 24 Sussex Drive, originally called ''Gorffwysfa'' and usually referred to simply as 24 Sussex, is the official residence of the prime minister of Canada, located in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario. Built between 1866 and 1868 by ...

During Brian Mulroney tenure

Mila was a radical change from the wives of recent prime ministers — the feminist

Maureen McTeer Maureen Anne McTeer (born February 27, 1952) is a Canadian author and lawyer, married to Joe Clark, the 16th Prime Minister of Canada. Family and education McTeer was born in Cumberland, Ontario, to John and Bea McTeer. Her father taught her an ...

and the "wild child"

Margaret Trudeau Margaret Joan Trudeau ( Sinclair, formerly Kemper; born September 10, 1948) is a Canadian activist. She married Pierre Trudeau, the 15th prime minister of Canada, in 1971; three years after he became prime minister. They divorced in 1984, du ...

. Being a housewife, she greatly appealed to that demographic, especially in her responses to criticism from prominent feminists (including, in 1987, remarks from

Sheila Copps Sheila Maureen Copps (born November 27, 1952) is a former Canadian politician who also served as the sixth deputy prime minister of Canada from November 4, 1993, to April 30, 1996, and June 19, 1996, to June 11, 1997. Her father, Victor Copps, ...

). Many PC campaign buttons featured both Mulroney's face and hers, and

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 ...

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

commented to Brian, "Mila will get you more votes for you than you will for yourself."Mila: Mulroney's Not-so-secret Weapon
''

The Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', September 4, 1984 She assumed a greater role than many Prime Ministers' wives while Mulroney was in office, campaigning for several children's charities. Her role, which some claimed was trying to become a "

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

," was criticized (especially when she hired a personal office and staff and for her lavish redecoration of the Prime Minister's residence). Her frequent shopping sprees became tabloid fodder, with some in the press dubbing her "

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" for her love of shoes (she had over 100 pairs). In her book ''On the Take'',

Stevie Cameron Stevie Cameron, , (, Stephanie Graham Dahl; born 11 October 1943) is a Canadian investigative journalist and author. Early life and work Stephanie "Stevie" Graham Dahl was born in Belleville, Ontario, to Harold Edward Dahl, a mercenary Americ ...

accused Mila of trying to sell her old furniture to the government for much more than its value.

After Brian Mulroney tenure

Mila Mulroney is former celebrity patron of the

Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Cystic Fibrosis Canada is a national charitable not-for-profit corporation established in 1960. Cystic Fibrosis Canada's mandate is to help individuals with cystic fibrosis, principally by funding cystic fibrosis research and care. The organizat ...

and of Astral.Mila Mulroney's page at Astral Media's website
/ref> In 2019, she was knighted in Serbia by Ivica Dačić ( Knight of the St. Sava Order of Diplomatic Pacifism).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulroney, Mila 1953 births Living people Brian Mulroney Concordia University alumni Canadian people of Serbian descent Canadian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent Mulroney family Naturalized citizens of Canada People from Montreal Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Spouses of prime ministers of Canada Yugoslav emigrants to Canada Knights of the St. Sava Order of Diplomatic Pacifism