Fonds RHN - Ramon Hnatyshyn fonds

Mr. Hnatyshyn attended Victoria Public School and Nutana Collegiate Institute in Saskatoon. He continued his studies at the University of Saskatchewan, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954 and a Bachelor of Law degree in 1956. He is married to Karen Gerda Nygaard Andreasen. They have two sons John and Carl. John is an Honours political science graduate from Carleton in 1990. Carl is a graduate of the University of British Columbia.
Mr. Hnatyshyn was called to the Bar of Saskatchewan in 1957 and to the Ontario Bar in 1986. He also spent 10 years as a sessional lecturer at the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1974, and on June 4, 1979, he was sworn into the Privy Council, after which he held a number of different ministerial portfolios including Attorney General and Minister of Justice. Mr. Hnatyshyn was installed as Governor General on January 29, 1990.
In 1992, the Hnatyshyns established the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, along with the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Voluntarism in the Arts in the same year. His commitment to education was demonstrated through the establishment of numerous awards, scholarships and initiatives during his term in office. The Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award for Law is presented annually by the Canadian Bar Association to recognize outstanding contribution to the law and legal scholarship in Canada.
Mr. Hnatyshyn's honours include a Queen's Counsel (Q.C.) appointment for Saskatchewan in 1973, appointment as Queen's Counsel (Q.C.) for Canada in 1988, and a year later, an honourary life membership with the Law Society of Saskatchewan. In 1989, he received the St. Volodymyr Medal Award from the World Congress of Ukrainians, in recognition of "outstanding contributions to the cause of justice and civil liberties." Following his departure from Rideau Hall and a return to law practice in Ottawa, he received the Mount Scopus Award from the Hebrew University in 1996 for "demonstrating broad humanitarian concern throughout his career". Throughout his professional career Mr. Hnatyshyn has received over 15 honourary degrees from numerous national and international universities, including Carleton University.
Mr. Hnatyshyn is Senior Partner with Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP, Ottawa, where he practices in the areas of advocacy, business, international and trade law. Former Governor General and Commander in Chief of Canada, the Right Honourable Ramon John Hnatyshyn, was to become Carleton University's eighth Chancellor but passed away before he could be installed in November of 2002.