Ray Hnatyshyn

Who was Ray Hnatyshyn?

Ramon John Hnatyshyn PC CC CMM CD KStJ QC, QC FRHSC, commonly known as Ray Hnatyshyn, was a Canadian politician and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 24th since Canadian Confederation.

Hnatyshyn was born and educated in Saskatchewan and also served in the Royal Canadian Air Cadets prior to being elected to the House of Commons in 1974, whereafter he served as a minister of the Crown in two non-successive governments until 1988. He was in 1989 appointed as governor general by Queen Elizabeth II, on the recommendation of Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney, to replace Jeanne Mathilde Sauvé as viceroy, and he occupied the post until succeeded by Roméo LeBlanc in 1995. As the Queen's representative, Hnatyshyn proved to be a populist, reversing some exclusive policies of his predecessor, such as opening up Rideau Hall to ordinary Canadians and tourists alike, and was praised for raising the stature of Ukrainian Canadians.

On June 4, 1979, Hnatyshyn was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, giving him the accordant style of The Honourable; however, as a former Governor General of Canada, Hnatyshyn was entitled to be styled for life with the superior form of The Right Honourable. He subsequently practiced law and sat as Chancellor of Carleton University before dying of pancreatitis on December 18, 2002.