Roy MacLaren, PC

Queen's Privy Council for Canada

The Queen's Privy Council for Canada ), sometimes called Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council, is the full group of personal consultants to the monarch of Canada on state and constitutional affairs, though responsible government requires the sovereign or her viceroy,...

 (born October 26, 1934), is a Canadian politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

, diplomat

Diplomat

A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...

, historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

, and author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia with a major in History, a Master's degree

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 from St Catharine's College, Cambridge

St Catharine's College, Cambridge

St. Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473, the college is often referred to informally by the nickname "Catz".-History:...

, a Master of Divinity

Master of Divinity

In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...

 degree from the University of Trinity College

University of Trinity College

The University of Trinity College, informally referred to as Trin, is a college of the University of Toronto, founded in 1851 by Bishop John Strachan. Trinity was intended by Strachan as a college of strong Anglican alignment, after the University of Toronto severed its ties with the Church of...

 and an honorary Doctor of Sacred Letters degree from the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

, another honorary degree from the University of Alabama

University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....

, and in 1973 attended Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

's Advanced Management Program. In 2002, he received the Alumni Award of Distinction from the University of British Columbia

University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

.

During twelve years with the Canadian foreign service, MacLaren's postings included Hanoi

Hanoi

Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...

, Saigon, Prague

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 and the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and Geneva

Geneva

Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

. He served as the Canadian Chair of the Canada-Europe Round Table, the Canada-India Business Council and the Canadian Institute for International Affairs. He has also served on the Canadian and British Board of Directors of Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...

 plus a number of other multi-national corporations. He is also the Honorary Colonel of the 7th Toronto Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery

7th Toronto Regiment, RCA

The 7th Toronto Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery is a militia regiment of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group,...

.

His historical book, Canadians on the Nile, 1882-1898 was published in 1978 and the following year he was elected

Canadian federal election, 1979

The Canadian federal election of 1979 was held on May 22, 1979 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 31st Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of Liberal Party of Canada after 11 years in power under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Joe Clark led the Progressive...

 to the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 as the Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 MP for Etobicoke North

Etobicoke North

Etobicoke North is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979. It covers Rexdale, the northern part of Etobicoke, which is part of Toronto....

. In June 1983, MacLaren was appointed by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau as Minister of State [Finance]. In June 1984, he was appointed to John Turner

John Turner

John Napier Wyndham Turner, PC, CC, QC is an English Canadian lawyer and retired politician, who served as the 17th Prime Minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984....

's short-lived cabinet as Minister of National Revenue, but was defeated in the September election

Canadian federal election, 1984

The Canadian federal election of 1984 was held on September 4 of that year to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 33rd Parliament of Canada...

 by Conservative Bob Pennock

Robert Pennock (politician)

Robert Pennock was a Progressive Conservative party member of the Canadian House of Commons. He was a contractor and businessman by career....

. In 1988, he was again elected

Canadian federal election, 1988

The Canadian federal election of 1988 was held November 21, 1988, to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 34th Parliament of Canada. It was an election largely fought on a single issue: the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement ....

 MP for Etobicoke North. After the Liberals won the 1993 election

Canadian federal election, 1993

The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...

, he was appointed Minister of International Trade, but resigned that position and his seat in 1996, when he was appointed High Commissioner for Canada in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. He served in that position until 2000.

MacLaren co-Chairs the Canada Europe Roundtable for Business, sits on the Council of the Champlain Society, the Executive Committee of the Trilateral Commission

Trilateral Commission

The Trilateral Commission is a non-governmental, non-partisan discussion group founded by David Rockefeller in July 1973 to foster closer cooperation among the United States, Europe and Japan.-History:...

, the Board of Directors of the Royal Ontario Museum

Royal Ontario Museum

The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...

 Foundation Board, is President of St Catharine's College Society, and a director of The Council for Business and the Arts in Canada. His published writings reflect his personal and professional experience, much of it concentrating on Canada's international history.

While serving as High Commissioner in London, he published the historically significant diaries of explorer William Stairs

William Grant Stairs

William Grant Stairs was a Canadian-British explorer, soldier, and adventurer who had a leading role in two of the most controversial expeditions in the history of the colonisation of Africa.-Education:...

. The depiction on the book cover of the expedition up Mt. Ruwenzori is based on a sketch by William Stairs now in the National Archives of Canada

Library and Archives Canada

Library and Archives Canada is a national memory institution dedicated to providing the best possible account of Canadian life through acquiring, preserving and making Canada's documentary heritage accessible for use in the 21st century and beyond...

.

Works

• Canadians in Russia, 1918-1919 (1976)
• Canadians on the Nile, 1882-1898 (1978) ISBN 0-7748-0094-1
• Canadians Behind Enemy Lines, 1939-1945 (1981) ISBN 0-7748-0185-9
• African Exploits, The Diaries of William Stairs, 1887-1892 (1998) ISBN 0-7735-1640-9
• Commissions High; Canada in London 1870-1970 (2004)

External links