Wishart McLea Robertson, (February 15, 1891 – August 16, 1967) was a politician in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. Robertson's paternal grandfather, Robert Robertson, was a member of

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

from 1854 until 1878. His father, Thomas Robertson was also a member of the provincial legislature, as well as serving as a

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 ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) from 1882 to 1887. His mother was Josephine Allan. Born in Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia, Wishart Robertson was educated in a Nova Scotia high school. He moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, to enter business, but returned to Canada in 1916 to join the 219th Battalion and then the 85th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force as a lieutenant. In 1918, he returned to Canada following

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 ...

, and entered the

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

industry. In 1919, Robertson married Ethel Walker. He eventually became president and manager of Argyle Motor Services Ltd. and of Robertson Motors Ltd. of Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1928, he was elected to the provincial legislature, representing the riding previously held by his father and grandfather before him had represented. He did not run for re-election in 1933. In 1943, he was elected President of the National Liberal Federation of Canada and was appointed to the Senate of Canada on February 19 of that year. Senator Robertson was appointed to the cabinet as Leader of the Government in the Canadian Senate and minister without portfolio in 1945. He served as a delegate to the

General Assembly of the United Nations The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

in 1946. He was active in the civil section of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

(NATO) and helped establish international parliamentary groups to help set out the political, economic, and social goals of NATO. Robertson was appointed

Speaker of the Senate of Canada The speaker of the Senate of Canada (french: président du Sénat du Canada) is the presiding officer of the Senate of Canada. The speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of parliamentary procedure and parliament ...

in 1953. He continued his efforts with NATO and formed the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association in 1954 with himself as president. He encouraged the formation of similar associations in other countries. He won the 1954 Atlantic Award for outstanding service to the NATO community for his efforts that ultimately led to the formation of the NATO International Parliamentary Association in July 1955. Senator Robertson was Chairman of the founding conference and was elected Honorary Life President of the international association. Robertson's term as the Senate's speaker ended with the defeat of the Liberal government in the 1957 election. Robertson remained a Senator until his resignation in 1965 due to ill health. He died in Ottawa at the age of 76.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Robertson, Wishart 1891 births 1967 deaths Canadian senators from Nova Scotia Canadian people of Scottish descent Liberal Party of Canada senators Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs People from Shelburne County, Nova Scotia Speakers of the Senate of Canada

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