George Ignatieff

Count George Pavlovich Ignatieff, (; December 16, 1913 – August 10, 1989) was a Canadian diplomat. His career spanned nearly five decades in World War II and the postwar period. Early life and education Count Ignatieff was born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, the youngest of five sons, to a distinguished Russian noble family. His mother was Princess Natalia Nikolayevna Meshcherskaya and his father was Count Pavel Ignatiev, a close advisor to Tsar Nicholas II serving as his last Minister of Education. In 1918, the year after the Russian Revolution, Count Ignatieff was imprisoned, but his release was negotiated by sympathetic supporters. The family fled to France, and later moved to Canada. George Ignatieff was educated at St Paul's School, London, Lower Canada College, and the University of Trinity College, University of Toronto, before being awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford. Wartime service and postwar diplomacy With the advent of war, Ignatieff joined the Royal Artillery, where he worked in photographic intelligence. In 1940 he joined the Canadian Department of External Affairs. He became personal assistant to the Canadian High Commissioner in London, Vincent Massey, and during his London posting began a friendship with Lester Pearson, later Prime Minister of Canada. Ignatieff also served as the wartime Canadian delegate to the International Red Cross. Ignatieff was a key figure in Canadian diplomacy and international relations through the postwar period. He was Ambassador to Yugoslavia (1956–1958), permanent representative to NATO (1963–1966), Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations (1966–1969) and president of the United Nations Security Council (1968–1969). In 1984 Ignatieff was appointed Ambassador for Disarmament by Prime Minister John Turner.