Canadian politician, former Prime Minister.
The Right Honourable William Lyon Mackenzie King, former leader of the Liberal Party of Canada. He was Prime Minister from 1921until 1930 and also from 1935 until 1948. He reunited the Liberal Party after World War I, reconciling pro- and anti- conscription party members. By chance he and his party were out of power during the worst years of the Great Depression.
King guided Canada in World War II, and important partner with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt . King introduced Canada's old age pensions.
He believed in the spirit world, and talked to his dog. Which beats making policy based on opinion polls. King dies in 1950, two years after retiring.
His image graces the Canadian $50 bill, which is a striking red colour.
"It is what we prevent, rather than what we do that counts most in Government." -- Mackenzie King, August 26 1936. This governance through inaction has been the mantra of the Liberal party ever since.
Previous Prime Ministers: Arthur Meighen, Arthur Meighen again (4 days in 1926) and Richard Bedford Bennett (1930).
Next Prime Minister: Arthur Meighen (4 days in 1926), Richard Bedford Bennett (1930) and Louis Stephen St. Laurent (1948).