Ignatieff, Michael

Michael Ignatieff

Michael Ignatieff is the Member of Parliament for the Ontario riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. He is a Canadian writer, scholar, journalist, and lifelong Liberal. He is one of the world’s foremost experts on human rights, democracy, security, and international affairs. Widely respected throughout the international community, he has advised governments and world leaders on these issues, and inspired students at leading universities around the globe. Michael was born in Toronto on May 12, 1947, the son of George Ignatieff and Alison Grant. His father, George, came to Canada as a young man in 1928, settling in Montreal after fleeing Bolshevik Russia with his family. Years later, Michael traced his family's exile to Europe and journey to Canada in his 1987 memoir, The Russian Album, for which he received the Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction. After studying at the University of Toronto, George Ignatieff went on to become a Rhodes Scholar and a distinguished Canadian diplomat, serving his country as Ambassador to Yugoslavia, NATO and the United Nations. He also served as President of the United Nations Security Council, and, upon retiring from the Canadian Foreign Service, as Chancellor of the University of Toronto. During his life, George Ignatieff received numerous honours for his outstanding work including the 1984 Pearson Medal of Peace and Companionship in the Order of Canada. On his mother's side of the family, Michael is the great-grandson of Rev. George Monro Grant. George Grant was the author of Ocean to Ocean, a popular work chronicling his 1872 travels across Confederation-era Canada with Sir Sanford Fleming, the father of standard time. In 1877, Rev. Grant would become Principal of Queen's University in Kingston, serving with great success for 25 years. He is to this day regarded among the most influential of all of Queen's principals. Growing up in Toronto's Annex neigbourhood, Michael attended Upper Canada College and received his undergraduate degree in history from the University of Toronto. During his years at the University of Toronto, Michael became actively involved in Liberal Party politics, knocking on doors in the 1965 election for Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. Michael attended the 1968 Liberal Leadership Convention as a delegate for Pierre Trudeau, and served as a national youth organizer on the campaign that would elect Trudeau Prime Minister in the summer of 1968. For much of his adult life, Michael has traveled the globe, teaching at leading universities across Canada and the world, and bringing his first-hand accounts of societies divided by nationalism and conflict to the attention of a global audience. Throughout these travels, Michael has maintained strong ties to Canada, returning frequently to advise governments, visit friends and family, and give lectures. In recognition of his contributions as a Canadian on the world stage, Maclean's hasnamed Michael among the "Top 10 Canadian Who's Who" (1997) and among the "50 Most Influential Canadians Shaping Society" (2002). Michael is married to Zsuzsanna Zsohar, and has two children, Theo and Sophie.

Michael Ignatieff
Member of Parliament for Etobicoke—Lakeshore
House of Commons
Ottawa (ON)
K1A 0A6
Telephone 1 : (613) 995-9364 (Ottawa)
Telephone 2 : (416) 251-5510 (Toronto)
Fax : (613) 992-5880
Email : Ignatieff.M@parl.gc.ca
Web : www.michaelignatieffmp.ca

Categories : Canadian Federal Politic

Last Update : 2007-03-09