Hnatyshyn, Ramon

Hnatyshyn, Ramon (Ray) [Hnatyšyn], b 16 March 1934 in Saskatoon, d 18 December 2002 in Ottawa. (Photo: Ramon Hnatyshyn.) Lawyer and politician; son of John Hnatyshyn. A graduate of the University of Saskatchewan, he practiced law in Saskatoon and then lectured on law at the University of Saskatchewan (1966–74). In 1973 he was appointed Queen’s Counsel. As a Progressive Conservative (PC), he was elected to the House of Commons for Saskatoon West in 1974, 1979, 1980, and 1984. In the PC government of 1979–80 he served as minister of energy, mines, and resources and as minister of state for science and technology. An opponent of capital punishment, Hnatyshyn monitored the solicitor general’s department while in the PC shadow cabinet in 1983. He served as PC government House leader (1984–5), president of the Queen’s Privy Council (1985–6), and minister of Justice and attorney general (1986–8). In 1990–5 he assumed the post of Governor General of Canada. During his term in this office, Hnatyshyn visited Ukraine (in 1992). He had started setting up the Hnatyshyn Foundation for Canadian artists before his death. However, the project was realized only later. The Ramon Hnatyshyn Canadian Studies Centre at Chernivtsi University was named in his honor when it opened in 2005. A documentary film about Hnatyshyn (with both English and Ukrainian versions) was produced in Toronto by Iryna Korpan in 2007.

[This article was updated in 2007.]