Martin Brian Mulroney was a Canadian lawyer, businessman and politician who served as the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec town of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political science and law . He later moved to Montreal and gained prominence as a labor lawyer. After placing third in the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership election, he was appointed president of the Iron Ore Company of Canada in 1977. He served in that position until 1983.

Early life

Mulroney was born on March 20, 1939, in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, a remote and isolated town in the eastern part of the province. He was the son of Irish Canadian Catholic parents, Mary Irene (née O'Shea) and Benedict Martin Mulroney, who was a paper mill electrician. As there was no English-language Catholic high school in Baie-Comeau, Mulroney completed his high school education at a Roman Catholic boarding school in Chatham, New Brunswick, operated by St. Thomas University. In 2001, St. Thomas University named its newest academic building in his honour. Benedict Mulroney worked overtime and ran a repair business to earn extra money for his children's education, and he encouraged his oldest son to attend university.

Family

On May 26, 1973, Mulroney married Mila Pivnički, the daughter of a Serbian-Canadian doctor, Dimitrije Pivnički, from Novi Bečej. Many PC campaign buttons featured both Mulroney's face and hers, and Ontario Premier Bill Davis commented to Brian, "Mila will get you more votes for you than you will for yourself."

Education

Mulroney entered St. Francis Xavier University in the fall of 1955 as a 16-year-old first-year student. His political life began when he was recruited to the campus Progressive Conservative group by Lowell Murray and others early in his first year. Murray, who was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1979, became Mulroney's close friend, mentor, and adviser. Mulroney made other important, lasting friendships with Gerald Doucet, Fred Doucet, Sam Wakim, and Patrick MacAdam. Mulroney enthusiastically embraced political organization and assisted the local PC candidate in his successful 1956 Nova Scotia provincial election campaign; the PCs, led provincially by Robert Stanfield, won a surprise victory.

Memoir

Mulroney's Memoirs: 1939–1993 was released on September 10, 2007. Mulroney criticizes Pierre Elliot Trudeau for avoiding military service in World War II, and favourably references sources that describe the young Trudeau as holding anti-Semitic nationalist views and having an admiration for fascist dictators. Tom Axworthy, a prominent Liberal strategist, responded that Trudeau should be judged on his mature views. Historian and former MP and Trudeau biographer John English said, "I don't think it does any good to do this kind of historical ransacking to try to destroy reputations."

Death and state funeral

Mulroney had suffered several years of declining health leading up to his death. He had undergone emergency surgery for an unspecified reason in December 2020. In April 2023, it was reported that Mulroney was recovering after being treated for prostate cancer. His daughter, Caroline, stated in August 2023 that her father's health was improving following his cancer treatment in April and a heart procedure in August. On February 29, 2024, Mulroney died at a hospital in Palm Beach, Florida. He had been hospitalized as the result of a fall at his home in Palm Beach.