Trudeau, Pierre (Elliott)

born Oct. 18, 1919, Montreal, Que., Can.

died Sept. 28, 2000, Montreal

Prime minister of Canada (1968–79, 1980–84).

He practiced law before being elected to the Canadian House of Commons (1966–84). He was minister of justice (1967–68) in Lester Pearson's administration. He became leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister in 1968. A determined antiseparatist, he advocated a strong federal government and took a determined stand against separatist terrorists. After nine months out of office, he returned in 1980 to initiate reforms that called for the constitutional "patriation," or transfer, of the amending authority from the British Parliament to Canada. To this end, he effected passage of the Canada Act, which precipitated Canada's official independence from Britain. His term saw the adoption of official bilingualism. He spent his final years in office seeking greater economic independence for Canada, forming better trade relations between industrialized democracies and developing countries, and urging further international disarmament talks. He resigned as leader of the Liberal Party and retired from politics in 1984, by which time he was the longest-serving leader of any Western democracy.

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