Trudeau, Pierre Elliott

Autor: Trudeau, Pierre Elliott
Rok: 1919-2000

Biogr./Hist. údaje: Kanadský politik.
Zdroj: Autoritní databáze Národní knihovny ČR

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, PC CH CC QC FRSC (/truːˈdoʊ/; French pronunciation: ​[tʁydo]; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968, to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980, to June 30, 1984.Trudeau began his political career as a lawyer, intellectual, and activist in Quebec politics. In the 1960s he entered federal politics by joining the Liberal Party of Canada. He was appointed as Lester Pearson's Parliamentary Secretary and later became his Minister of Justice. Trudeau became a media sensation, inspiring "Trudeaumania", and took charge of the Liberals in 1968. From the late 1960s until the mid-1980s, his personality dominated the political scene to an extent never before seen in Canadian political life, arousing passionate and polarizing reactions throughout Canada. "Reason before passion" was his personal motto. He retired from politics in 1984, and John Turner succeeded him as Prime Minister. His son Justin Trudeau is leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.Admirers praise the force of Trudeau's intellect and salute his political acumen in preserving national unity against the Quebec sovereignty movement, suppressing a violent revolt, fostering a pan-Canadian identity, and in achieving sweeping institutional reform, including the implementation of official bilingualism, patriation of the Constitution, and the establishment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Critics accuse him of arrogance, of economic mismanagement, and of unduly centralizing Canadian decision-making to the detriment of Quebec's culture and the economy of the Prairies. While public opinion of him remains divided, scholars consistently rank him as one of the greatest Canadian Prime Ministers.