Canadian politician, former Prime Minister.
The Right Honourable Lester Bowles Pearson, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1958 to 1968, died in 1972. He was Prime Minister from 1963 until 1967, steering a minority government in alliance with the Social Credit party and New Democratic Party.
His government brought in Canada's distinctive red maple leaf flag in 1965, and created the Canada Pension Plan and universal medicare.
Pearson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for suggesting the international peace-keeping force that solved the Suez Crisis.
Previous Prime Minister: John Diefenbaker (1963)
Next Prime Minister: Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1967).