Brian Mulroney: The Personification of Leadership By: Camilo Seb as ti an
P H OTO BY U S D oD V I A W I K I ME D IA CO M M O N S
When contemplating who I would dedicate this article to, I began by establishing criteria that describe exemplary leadership qualities in an individual. A leader must be an individual who has made significant contributions to society, and who does not shy from making difficult, sometimes unpopular, decisions if they will contribute to general welfare. I decided to write on a Canadian who made incredible contributions to the country in his time as prime minister, and who has been one of Canada’s finest and most consequential leaders. This man is former prime minister, the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, who led the nation from 1984 to 1993. While I have never had the honor of THE OBSERVER
meeting the former prime minister, I have nevertheless been inspired by his early life and ultimately his work as Canada’s 18th prime minister. Prime minister Mulroney began to show at an early age his strong moral character, and he often shares the advice that his father gave him when his family was struggling financially. When a young Mulroney offered to remain in his hometown of Baie-Comeau, Quebec and seek an apprenticeship at a paper mill, his father told him: “The only way out of a paper mill town is through a university door, and you Brian are going to university.” The former prime minister attended St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in PAGE 28
