- Allan Gotlieb
Allan Ezra Gotlieb, CC , LL.D , LL.B , MA (born
February 28 ,1928 ) is a Canadianpublic servant and author.Born in
Winnipeg, Manitoba , Gotlieb received his BA from the University of California at Berkeley, his MA fromOxford University as aRhodes Scholar , and his LL.B degree fromHarvard University , where he was editor of theHarvard Law Review . In 1957 he joined the Department of External Affairs. From 1967 to 1968 he was assistant undersecretary and legal adviser. From 1968 to 1973 he was deputy minister of the Department of Communications, and from 1973 to 1976 deputy minister of Manpower and Immigration. From 1977 to 1981 he was an undersecretary at External Affairs.Most notably, Gotlieb was Canadian ambassador to the
United States from 1981 to 1989. During his high-profile years inWashington , he got to know then-U.S. PresidentRonald Reagan , Vice-PresidentGeorge H. Bush , and many senior officials in the ReaganWhite House , such asCaspar Weinberger ,Michael Deaver ,James Baker III , andGeorge P. Schultz . An advocate ofrealism in international relations , Gotlieb became known as a skillful and respected player in the complex world of Washington power politics.He and his wife
Sondra Gotlieb were known for their dazzling parties attended by the most powerful figures in Washington. Sondra's book "Washington Rollercoaster" recounted the Gotliebs' high-powered years as glamorous hosts in Washington, when she also wrote a much-read column for theWashington Post . Sondra attracted a blaze of international publicity in 1986, when she slapped her social secretary at an official dinner she and her husband were hosting in honour of the Canadian prime ministerBrian Mulroney and U.S. Vice-PresidentGeorge H. Bush .After he and Sondra returned to Canada in the early 1990s, they moved to Toronto's exclusive
Rosedale neighbourhood and became the centre of establishment society in that city. Sondra began writing newspaper columns for "The Globe and Mail " and the "National Post ", owned byConrad Black , whoseHollinger Inc. was among Allan's numerous corporate directorships. After his return to Canada, Gotlieb became an influential figure and was well-connected in both the Canadian and American corporate elites. This marked a shift from his earlier career as a senior mandarin inOttawa , where he had been a powerful figure and architect of many of Liberal prime ministerPierre Elliott Trudeau 's interventionist policies.From 1989 to 1994 Gotlieb was chairman of the
Canada Council . He was also publisher of "Saturday Night" magazine when it was owned byConrad Black , and a senior counsel at the law firm,Stikeman Elliott . He was made an Officer of theOrder of Canada in 1982 and was promoted to Companion in 1987. He was awarded an honoraryDoctor of Laws degree by theUniversity of Toronto in 2002 and byConcordia University in 2005.Gotlieb is an honorary and former fellow of
Wadham College, Oxford and was a Visiting Fellow atAll Souls College, Oxford . He was alsoWilliam Lyon MacKenzie King professor atHarvard University .He is a member of the
Carlyle Group 's Canadian advisory board and a member of the [http://www.trilateral.org/membship/bios/ag.htm Trilateral Commission] . He is also chairman ofSotheby's Canada, former chaiman of theOntario Heritage Foundation , and serves as chairman of theboard of governors of the Donner Canadian Foundation, known for its annual literary prize. He is also a senior advisor in the law office ofBennett Jones .Gotlieb is a prodigious art collector, notably of the work of 19th-century painter
James Tissot . He and his wife donated their Tissot collection to theArt Gallery of Ontario .Allan is a strong proponent of a
North American Union between Canada, the US and Mexico authoring a new article titled "Why not a grand bargain with the U.S.?" [http://www.canada.com/national/features/facingthecentury/story.html?id=11bbc8b4-63b4-4006-a294-c967887e2e94] which popularized the phrase "Grand Bargain".When
Ronald Reagan died in 2004, Gotlieb provided expert help in the commentary forCBC Newsworld 's coverage of the state funeral, helping the CBC's senior parliamentary editor,Don Newman , who anchored the coverage, drawing from his experiences as Canadian ambassador to Washington when Reagan was president.He published his diplomatic memoirs, "The Washington Diaries", in 2006.
Family
He married
Sondra Gotlieb (née Kaufman) in December 1955. The Gotliebs had three children: Rebecca (born in 1958), Marc (born in 1959), and Rachel (born in 1962).Rebecca, a lawyer, was married to Keith Ham, also a lawyer, but they separated and divorced after the adoption of son David in 1992. She subsequently married journalist
Matthew Fraser , former Editor-in-Chief of theNational Post and television host. She died suddenly of cancer in January 2003. David now lives with Keith Ham and his family in England.Marc, an art historian and University of Toronto professor is married Lauren Freeman and they have three children: Sally, Rosie, and Louis.
Rachel is married to lawyer Rob Dickson and they have two children, Fanny and Joe.
elected works
*"Disarmament and International Law" (1965)
*"Canadian Treaty-Making" (1968)
*"Impact of Technology on International Law" (1982)
*"I'll Be With You in a Minute, Mr. Ambassador" (1989)
* [http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780771033858 "The Washington Diaries"] (Random House , 2006)External links
* [http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=666 Order of Canada Citation]
* [http://cjournal.concordia.ca/journalarchives/2005-06/nov_24/005503.shtml Article on Honorary degree from Concordia University]
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-74-2086-12998-10/on_this_day/people/twt CBC Archives: Sondra Gotlieb's slap flap]
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