Georges Vanier

A World War I hero, a Canadian diplomat, and the first French-Canadian Governor General of Canada, Georges Vanier was a compassionate and caring man. As Governor General of Canada, Georges Vanier put his emphasis on the disadvantaged and on young people and seniors, as well as on trying to bring English and French Canadians closer together. Georges Vanier was the first French-Canadian Governor General of Canada.

1959-67

• Born April 23, 1888 in Montreal, Quebec
• Died March 5, 1967 in Ottawa, Ontario

• Loyola College, Montreal, Quebec

• BCL - Université Laval, Montreal, Quebec

Lawyer, soldier and diplomat

In World War I, Georges Vanier helped organize Canada's first French-Canadian volunteer unit the 22nd Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, which later became the Royal 22nd Regiment or the "Van Doos" as they were known to anglophones. A World War I hero, Georges Vanier was wounded at Chérisy in France, and had his leg amputated. He was awarded the Military Cross and the Distinguished Service Order.

• Georges Vanier enlisted as an officer in 1914.

• He joined the 22nd Battalion in 1915.

• Georges Vanier received the Military Cross in 1916.

• During attacks at Chérisy, France in 1918, Vanier's battalion was decimated and he lost a leg.

• Vanier received the Distinguished Service Order and the Bar to the Military Cross in 1919.

• He was appointed aide-de-camp to Governor General Lord Byng in 1921.

• In 1925, Georges Vanier took over command of the Royal 22nd Regiment at La Citadelle in Quebec City.

As a Canadian diplomat from 1928 to 1953, Georges Vanier served in both France and England. During World War II, Georges Vanier and his wife Pauline helped thousands of refugees and pressured the Canadian government to take in refugees from war-torn Europe.

• In 1928 Georges Vanier was part of the Canadian military delegation for disarmament to the League of Nations.

• He took over as Secretary to the Office of the High Commissioner in London in 1931.

• In 1939 Georges Vanier was named Canadian Minister to France.

• When the Germans occupied Paris in 1940, the Vaniers escaped to London where they helped refugees from continental Europe.

• Georges Vanier was named Ambassador to France in 1944, a position he held until 1953.

Georges Vanier was Governor General of Canada during the growth of separatism, and he worked to promote better relations between English and French Canadians. He focussed on the disadvantaged, young people and seniors. His work organizing the Canadian Conference on the Family in 1964 led to the creation of the Vanier Institute of the Family. A deeply spiritual man, Georges Vanier and his wife Pauline were nominated in 1992 for beatification in the Roman Catholic Church.

• Appointed by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, Georges Vanier was sworn in as Governor General of Canada in 1959.

• To recognize excellence in government service, he established the Vanier Medal of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada in 1962.

• In 1967 he established the Vanier Awards for Outstanding Young Canadians to recognize excellence in the Canadian Junior Chamber of Commerce.

• The Vaniers made changes to Rideau Hall, including bringing back the chapel which had been removed in 1912, and changing the smoking room into the Canadian room with pine panelling and Quebec antiques.

• Georges Vanier died in office in 1967 and was given a State funeral at Notre Dame Cathedral in Ottawa.