Philippe Gigantès

Philippe Deane Gigantès, Ph.D (August 16, 1923 – December 9, 2004) was a war hero, journalist, and Liberal Canadian Senator.

Gigantès, who was born in Salonica, Greece, served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. After the war, he became a journalist, working for "The Observer" from 1946 to 1961. Whilst covering the Korean War he was taken prisoner, and spent 33 months in a North Korean prison camp.

In 1980 he ran for MP in the Canadian riding of Broadview-Greenwood, but was defeated by Bob Rae. In 1984 while working as an editorialist at the "Montreal Gazette" he was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Pierre Trudeau, for whom he had worked between 1978 and 1980 as a researcher then head of the Liberal Caucus Research Office. He served in the Senate until his 75th birthday in 1998.

While in the Senate he served on many committees but was particularly proud of his work as chair of an adhoc committee on the future of work. His report of this work was published by Parliament under the title "Only Work Works" and in French under the title "Il n'y a que le Travail qui Vaille".

He was the author of 15 books including "I Should Have Died", "Is the Free Trade Deal Really for You?" (1988) and "" (2002).

In his book "Nice Work: The Continuing Scandal Of Canada's Senate"," journalist and author Claire Hoy wrote that the late Philippe Gigantes, during a filibuster in the Senate, read one of his books into the record, which contributed not only to the filibuster but also provided a complete French translation he later had published.

Gigantès died on December 9, 2004 of prostate cancer. He left behind three daughters Eleni, Claire and Eve Marie, two grandsons and a granddaughter.

External links

* [http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/12/09/gigantes041209.html CBC obituary]
* [http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/bio.asp?lang=E&query=329&s=M Canadian Parliament information]

Electoral record