George and Alison Ignatieff

George Pavlovich Ignatieff (1913-1989)

and

Jessie Alison Ignatieff (born Grant) (1916-1992)

George may be spelt Georgii, Georgiy, Georgios, Georges, Georg.

Pavel may be spelt Paul.

Pavlovich may be spelt Pavlovitch, Paulsson.

Early life of Georgiy Pavlovich Ignatieff

Georgiy Pavlovich Ignatieff was born on 16 December, 1913, in Saint Petersburg, in the Russian Empire, to a distinguished Russian family. He was the youngest of 5 sons. His mother was the Princess Natalia Nikolayevna Meshcherskaya. His father was the Count Paul Nikolayevich Ignatieff, her husband. Count Paul Ignatieff was a close advisor to Tsar Nicholas II, and he served as his last Minister of Education.

In 1918, the year after the Bolshevik Revolution, Count Paul Ignatieff was imprisoned, but his release was negotiated by sympathetic supporters.

Georgiy Pavlovich was raised in the Orthodox Christian Faith, in the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church, although much of his formation as an Orthodox Christian occurred no longer within the Russian Empire, but rather abroad (because of the 1917 Bolshevik Communist Revolution and its aftermath). After the revolution, the family managed to remain in Russia until some time during the Russian Civil War. Had they remained for very long, it would have constituted a great threat to life (the civil war lasted until 1923).

Besides Georgiy, there were other brothers : Nikolai P, Vladimir P, Alexei P, Pavel P, Leonid P, and Alexander P. Pavel and Alexander did not live past infancy.

Exile ; move to France and then Canada

The family fled to France, and later moved to Canada in 1925.

In 1928, they settled permanently in Upper Melbourne in the Eastern Townships of Québec. Upper Melbourne is near Sherbrooke, and it is 145 km (90 mi) southeast of Montréal.

Higher education

George P Ignatieff was educated at Saint Paul’s School, London, Ontario, at Lower Canada College (having first been rejected by Selwyn House School), and the University of Trinity College, University of Toronto, before being awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford University in England.

Diplomatic career, 1935 ; military service

External Affairs

In 1935, George Ignatieff joined the Canadian Department of External Affairs and he was posted to Canada House in London, England.

Military service

With the advent of World War II in 1939, George Ignatieff joined the Royal Artillery, where he worked in photographic intelligence.

Secretary and assistant at the High Commission in London

In 1940, George became Third Secretary and personal assistant to the Canadian High Commissioner in London, England, Vincent Massey ; and during his London posting began a friendship with Lester B Pearson (later Prime Minister of Canada). George Ignatieff also served as the wartime Canadian delegate to the International Red Cross.

 Standing on the roof of Canada House following one of the worst wartime air raids on London and 
 surveying the devastation around them, two men resolved to devote their lives to the cause of peace. 
 One of them was Mike Pearson, soon to become minister of external affairs and eventually prime 
 minister of Canada. The other was a junior foreign service official by the name of George Ignatieff.

While he was serving in the United Kingdom, George Ignatieff met Alison Grant, also a Canadian.

Early life of Jessie Alison Grant

Jessie Alison Grant was born on 2 February, 1916, at Goring-on-Thames, South Oxfordshire District, Oxfordshire, England. Her parents were William Lawson Grant (a professor of history, and Maude Erskine Grant (born Parkin) (a graduate of McGill University in 1903). They had both been born in the Maritime Provinces, and then moved to Toronto. There were other children : Margaret Monro Grant ; Charity Lawson Grant ; and George Parkin Grant. Jessie Alison Grant was the third child. Their mother was described as being a "strong woman", and the daughters grew up similarly.

Her father had first taught at Upper Canada College and at Saint Andrew's College in Toronto. He had then been the Beit Lecturer in colonial history in Oxford from 1904-1910. From 1910-1915, he taught at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario. He served as an officer with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in England and France during 1916-1917.

In December, 1917, he became the Principal of Upper Canada College (Canada’s pre-eminent private school) in Toronto. He had met his wife Maude Erskine Parkin in England, and they were married in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire on 1 June, 1911. Maud had 6 siblings, one of whom was Alice Parkin, who was married to Vincent Massey in 1915.

Alison had grown up in Toronto, and she had received her education there.

During World War II, Alison was working with British Intelligence. This particular work was somewhat similar to what George was doing, and it gave the occasion for their meeting.

Marriage, 1945

On Saturday, 17 November, 1945, in the Chapel of McGill University Theological College in Montréal, Québec, George P Ignatieff was married to Alison Grant (the granddaughter of George Monro Grant and niece of Vincent Massey, at that time the Canadian High Commissioner in London).

The marriage was solemnised there by the Rev’d W A Gifford, D.D. Afterwards, their marriage was blessed in Saint Peter and Paul's Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Montréal by Bishop Anthony (Tereshchenko). The marriage was solemnised and blessed in a quiet manner.

Marriage in Montréal, 1945

Later, they were given 2 sons from the Lord. The elder son, Michael Ignatieff, became the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and Leader of the Official Opposition (also known as the "Loyal Opposition") from 2008 to 2011. The younger son, Andrew Ignatieff, became an active community worker in Toronto, and he assisted in his brother’s leadership campaign. They each expressed in their own way the attitudes and concerns of their parents.

Their cousin, Nicholas Leonidovitch Ignatieff, followed a career somewhat similar to that of Andrew, and he was likewise very much involved in the life of the Russian Orthodox Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Toronto.

Diplomatic career continues, 1945

George Ignatieff became a prominent and influential figure in Canadian diplomacy and international relations throughout the postwar period. After World War II, the Canadian Foreign Service was still quite small, although its international reputation was substantial.

Formation to the United Nations

George Ignatieff was early involved in the planning and formation of the United Nations, to which he later returned as permanent representative of Canada.

Ambassador to Yugoslavia

He then served as Ambassador to Yugoslavia (1956-1958).

Representative to NATO

After this assignment, he served as Permanent Representative to NATO (1963-1966). Here, he proved to be a most effective representative of Canada.

Ambassador to the United Nations

He was next appointed to serve as Ambassador to the United Nations (1966-1969), during which he became President of the United Nations Security Council (1968-1969). As Charles Ritchie, a fellow diplomat wrote :

 The United Nations was a forum peculiarly suited to his talents ; his cosmopolitan outlook, patience 
 and his skill in negotiation were fully deployed there and the policies of successive Canadian governments 
 directed towards compromise and conciliation matched his personal beliefs.  At the United Nations, too, 
 he became involved in disarmament negotiations, a cause which he pursued all his life.  [...] Though 
 a man of peace, he was no appeaser.

United Nations General Assembly Hall

In the course of his career, George Ignatieff served under 7 prime ministers and in most of the important posts in our Foreign Service, including London and Washington D.C.. At home in Ottawa, Ontario, George Ignatieff was a trusted and influential adviser to a succession of ministers of External Affairs and prime ministers.

At the United Nations (1966-1969)

After his retirement, George Ignatieff spoke eloquently on behalf of disarmament causes, and in 1984, George P Ignatieff was appointed Ambassador for Disarmament by Prime Minister John Turner.

George Ignatieff was unimpressed by the foreign policy of the governments of the 1970s and 1980s, led by Prime Minister P E Trudeau, and he was unafraid to provoke government functionaries. He advocated a cautious realignment of the Canadian defence policy, and a complete nuclear test ban. As did his mentor L B Pearson, George Ignatieff believed in the interdependence of nations, and he had an acute prescience for the impending threats of terror, economic breakdown, and environmental degradation.

Provost of Trinity College ; Chancellor of the University of Toronto

George P Ignatieff served as Provost of the University of Trinity College from 1972 to 1979, and later as chancellor of the University of Toronto from 1980 to 1986. The theatre of the University of Trinity College is named after him, and it is fondly known as the GIT (pronounced "jit"). His career spanned nearly 5 decades, including World War II and the postwar period.

George P Ignatieff, 1980

George Ignatieff has been described as the “best Governor General Canada never had”. The background to this comment is provided by Mr. Charles Ritchie :

 He became a leading figure in the life of the community.  When he resigned from the university, 
 it was in the expectation, for which he had ample justification, that he would be appointed 
 Governor General of Canada.  But the prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, changed his mind and 
 he was passed over in favour of a minor political figure.

About this, Mr. Ritchie added :

 The disappointment for Ignatieff was severe.  It would have been a signal culmination to the 
 career of a man who had arrived in Canada as an immigrant from Imperial Russia to have ended 
 as the Queen's representative.  His personal disappointment was widely shared, for with his 
 sympathies, his eloquence and with Alison at his side, he would have made an impressive and 
 popular governor general.  This was one of Prime Minister Trudeau's mistakes of judgement.

Alison Grant Ignatieff

The autobiography of George P Ignatieff, "The Making of a Peacemonger", was published in 1985 by the University of Toronto Press. In a published book review, it was said :

 His close-up observation of troops massed to parade before Hitler, his shock at the atomic bombing 
 of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the nuclear arms race, and the Cuban missile crisis all reinforced his 
 commitment to peace.  Ignatieff served his adopted country as Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia 
 and to the North Atlantic Council.  He represented Canada on the United Nations Security Council 
 and at the Geneva Disarmament Conference.  He participated in tense negotiations over most of the 
 world's hot spots of the 1950s and 60s : the Middle-East, Suez, Korea, Czechoslovakia, Cyprus.  
 He accompanied Pearson on his historic visit to the Soviet Union, and spent a memorable evening 
 with Khrushchev and Bulganin. He discussed multiculturalism with Tito, the Suez crisis with U Thant, 
 and disarmament with anyone who would listen.  [...] They [his memoirs] are also the intensely personal 
 account of an immigrant who rose to distinguished heights in service to his country and to humanity.

Ecclesiastical activity

During all his years, George Ignatieff was involved in ecclesiastical life in Canada. He supported his wife’s church, the Anglican Church of Canada. However, he was well-known also for his devotion to the Russian Orthodox Church, of which he was always a part. As such, he participated in the parish council and administration of Christ the Saviour Church in Toronto, in the Archdiocesan Council, and in other meetings of the Archdiocese of Canada of The Orthodox Church in America.

Order of Canada

George Ignatieff was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1973.

1982, George P Ignatieff never forgot his Toronto working-class home

1982, George P Ignatieff in his home library

Visit of Pope John Paul II

In 1983 and 1984, George Ignatieff was amongst the consultants who worked in preparation for the September, 1984, visit to Canada of Pope John Paul II. Such detailed preparations required very many meetings. The visit began on 9 September, 1984 in Québec City, Québec. The visit, which lasted 12 days, took Pope John Paul II to many places in Canada.

1983, George Ignatiev in preparation for, and in consultation with Roman Catholic authorities before the 1984 papal visit

George Ignatieff received the Pearson Medal of Peace for his work in international service in 1984.

He received 8 honourary degrees from Canadian universities.

Repose, 1989

After suffering for some time from Alzheimer’s Disease, George Pavlovich Ignatieff reposed in the Lord on 10 August, 1989, in Sherbrooke, Québec.

Following the funeral services, his body was interred at Saint Andrews Cemetery in Melbourne, Estrie Region, Québec.

His wife, Alison Grant Ignatieff reposed in 1992 in Toronto.

After the funeral obsequies there, her body was interred at Saint Andrews Cemetery in Melbourne, Québec.

Saint Andrews Cemetery gate

Reflections

His unique situation and service

When considering the life and work of George P Ignatieff, it is important to keep in mind the great significance of the high level at which he came to serve his adopted country, Canada. He was effectively a refugee, of a refugee family, a family of noble birth – but of Russian nobility. Historically and until now, being a Russian (or Russian-speaker) can be a detriment more than an advantage in Canada, regardless of nobility or lack thereof.

Providential direction

George Ignatieff came to Canada, and he managed to serve as a diplomat at a time when the "Canadian Establishment" was still very firmly in place. This "establishment" (because of the history of the formation of the country), was primarily anglophone, and primarily of British ethnic descent. Its main origins may be found in the so-called "Family Compact" of Anglophonic Canada in the 19th century (which at that time included substantial portions of Québec. In Francophonic Québec, it is said that the "Establishment" involved the Roman Catholic Church. Therefore, Mr. Ignatieff would not have neglected to perceive (and to be grateful for) the hand of Divine Providence in his advancement.

Even in the 1970s, it could be (and was) said to a Canadian-born (but not of British origin) public servant in the Department of External Affairs, "They are letting anyone into the department these days". It would be for such reasons that between 1975 and 1998, Peter C Newman wrote his 3-volume work, "The Canadian Establishment". The volumes are entitled : "The Old Order" (1975) ; "The Acquisitors" (1981) ; "The Titans" (1998). He also wrote an article, 'The death of the Canadian Establishment ... and why the country is better off without it' in "Macleans Magazine" on 12 March, 2013. The change-of-mind of Prime Minister P Trudeau regarding the governor-generalship may have occurred under the influence of some part or parts of that "Establishment".

It was part of the work of Divine Providence that George Ignatieff met the people he met, and when he met them. It was part of the work of Divine Providence that Mr. L B Pearson noticed him and appreciated his personal gifts and qualities. Such persons were able to see and comprehend George Ignatieff for who he truly was.

Mr. Charles Ritchie's comments

As written by the retired diplomat Charles Ritchie in the "Ottawa Citizen", "George Ignatieff was not only an outstanding Canadian diplomat but a man of strong convictions and magnetic personality who left his mark on the life of his country". He further described him :

 Tall and strikingly handsome, he was a stimulating and delightful companion.  His exuberant 
 conversation overflowed with ideas, but he had a keen eye for the ridiculous.  He was a 
 fascinating combination of two cultures and proud of being a Canadian.  He was deeply Russian 
 in temperament, in his changing moods, his love of talk and in his inherited sense of service 
 to the state.

He added that in London during World War II, Lester B Pearson had noticed George Ignatieff, as he

 spotted Ignatieff's exceptional ability.  Pearson was to influence the course of Ignatieff's 
 career and to shape his thinking in the tradition of liberal internationalism.

About the marriage of George Ignatieff and Alison Grant, Mr. Ritchie reported that Alison

 was a Canadian working during the war for British Intelligence in London.  The marriage 
 was the greatest good fortune in his life.  Alison had gentleness and strength, a keen 
 brain and great charm.  Her love and understanding carried him through the ups and downs 
 of a highly-strung temperament ; but she was no mere echo of her husband, she had an 
 influence and judgement which were all her own.

Grand Duchess Olga Kulikovskaya

Although it is not written about, there is another matter to be considered about his personal history. It is true that during the 1950s, George Ignatieff made his home in Ottawa because of his responsibilities. During this decade, he was frequently absent because of his work. However, during this decade there lived in Toronto the Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna Kulikovskaya, the sister of Tsar Nicholas II (Romanov), who had escaped after the revolution with her husband Nikolai Kulikov. After living for a time in Denmark, they eventually settled in the Toronto region in 1948. She lived there through her husband's repose in 1958 until her own repose in 1960. In the context of his family history, it is difficult to accept that there would have been little to no contact between George and Grand Duchess Olga. The Grand Duchess was not at all a political figure. She did not make a fuss about her title or her history ; she lived a simple life. However, people knew who she was, and they respected her.

Diplomatic Posts :

• Assignments in Ottawa

• High Commission, London, England, Third Secretary 1940s

• Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia 1956-1958

• Permanent Representative to NATO 1963-1966

• Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations : July, 1966-February, 1969

• Assignments in Washington, D.C.

Academic Posts :

• Provost of the University of Trinity College 1972-1978

• Chancellor of the University of Toronto 1980-1986

Awards/Honourary degrees

• Pearson Medal of Peace : George Ignatieff