- Simon Reisman
Infobox Person
caption =
birth_date = birth date|1919|06|19
birth_place =Montreal ,Quebec ,Canada
death_date = death date and age|2008|03|09|1919|06|19
death_place =Ottawa ,Ontario ,Canada
other_names =
known_for = Negotiator for theCanada-United States Free Trade Agreement
occupation = Civil Servant
nationality = CanadianSol Simon Reisman (
June 19 ,1919 –March 9 ,2008 cite web|title=Death notice|url=http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=f5fe8703-183f-449f-b30a-4573dcea57f9|work=Montreal Gazette ] ) was a Canadian civil servant, and the country's chief negotiator for theCanada-United States Free Trade Agreement .Born in
Montreal ,Quebec , the son of Kolman and Manya Reisman, Reisman graduated fromBaron Byng High School before receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science in 1941 and a Master of Arts degree in 1942 fromMcGill University .cite web|title=Canadian Who's Who|work=University of Toronto Press |url=http://utpress.utpress.utoronto.ca/cgi-bin/cw2w3.cgi?p=reid&t=63928&d=2709] He was a veteran of theSecond World War , having served inItaly ,Holland andGermany with theRoyal Canadian Artillery .Cite web
url=http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=f47d7773-78a9-4d98-92db-59e171be9aaf&k=88490
title=Tough-talking former trade negotiator Simon Reisman dies
last=Greenway
first=Norma
publisher=CanWest News Service
date=2008-03-10
accessdate=2008-03-10] After the war, he studied at theLondon School of Economics .In 1946, he entered into
public service joining the Department of Labour. Reisman was a member of Canada's delegation to the inaugural session of theGeneral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in the late 1940s. He made major contributions toward the drafting of the Canada-U.S. Auto Pact. [ [http://www.thespec.com/News/BreakingNews/article/337715 Simon Reisman Obituary] ] Reisman rose to senior positions in the public service, includingdeputy minister in the Department of Finance and the Department of Industry before retiring in 1975. Following the election ofBrian Mulroney , Reisman sent the new prime minister a memo advocatingfree trade negotiations with theUnited States . Mulroney accepted Reisman's plan and, in 1985, tapped him to lead Canada's trade negotiations with the United States.Reisman was made an Officer of the
Order of Canada in 1978 [cite web|title=Order of Canada citation|url=http://www.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=1405] and the Outstanding Public Service Award in 1974.He was married to Constance Carin for 65 years. They had four children.
He died in his sleep in
Ottawa ,Ontario in 2008. His funeral service is scheduled to be held at Ottawa's Temple Israel.References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
