Allister Grosart, (December 13, 1906 – February 8, 1984) was a Progressive Conservative politician,

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 ...

, journalist and businessman in

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. Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, his mother was a missionary and he was raised in China. He received a degree in law from 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 ...

but became a journalist instead of a lawyer. He worked for the ''

Toronto Daily 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 par ...

'' and ''

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''. During

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, he served with the 2nd battalion of the Irish Regiment reaching the rank of Major. After the war, he eventually joined a public relations firm. Grosart was a key

party organizer A party organizer or local party organizer is a position in some political parties in charge of the establishing a party organization in a certain locality. Herbert Ames wrote in his 1911 article "Organization of Political Parties in Canada" :"Pro ...

and is credited by many for organizing the victories of the

Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...

Tories in the 1957 federal election in which the party defeated the Liberals for the first time since

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. He was also a key organizer in the subsequent 1958 election in which the Diefenbaker government was returned with the largest

majority A majority, also called a simple majority or absolute majority to distinguish it from #Related terms, related terms, is more than half of the total.Dictionary definitions of ''majority'' aMerriam-Webster 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 parliamentar ...

when the Tories again formed government from 1979 to 1980 under

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...

. Grosart retired from the Senate in 1981, and was appointed to the

Queen's Privy Council for Canada The 's Privy Council for Canada (french: Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada),) during the reign of a queen. sometimes called Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the ...

in honour of his long service.

References

External links

*
Speakers of the Senate biography
at the

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

, Ottawa, Ontario. {{DEFAULTSORT:Grosart, Allister 1906 births 1984 deaths Businesspeople from Ontario Canadian male journalists Canadian senators from Ontario Canadian people of Scottish descent Irish emigrants to Canada Journalists from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Progressive Conservative Party of Canada senators Speakers of the Senate of Canada University of Toronto alumni Politicians from County Dublin

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