The Hill Times: Best Books of 2017

Unique views from John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Indira Gandhi, and dozens of other world leaders reveal Canada and Canadians through their eyes.

During the First World War, foreign leaders began addressing Canadians in our House of Commons and, ever since, have continued influencing how we think about our role in global affairs. For a century now, this parade of world figures has brought urgent messages about Canadas importance in world wars, the United Nations, Cold War security, decolonization and modernization, advancing human rights, environmental conservation, and combating terrorism.

All of the foreign leaders addressing Canadas parliament sought to forge new partnerships between their own countries and ours in a rapidly evolving global context. Over the decades these speeches chart the stunning transformation of international affairs and Canadas place in the world. No other source provides a complete record of this body of high-level oratory, gathered here for the first time inForeign Voices in the House.

J. Patrick Boyer studied law at the International Court of Justice in The Netherlands, served as Canadas Parliamentary Secretary for External Affairs, and works for democratic development overseas. The author of twenty-three books on Canadian history, law, politics, and governance, Patrick lives with wife, Elise, in Muskoka and Toronto.

Chronological List of Foreign Leaders Addressing Parliament, 1917 to 2016

Introduction: Ourselves as Others See Us

1 Foreign Voices at Canadas Podium
Messages of Enduring Importance
A Composite of Diversity
Intersecting Realities
Creating the Speech
Delivering the Speech
Reporting the Speech
Changes in the World View of Leaders
Actors upon the World Stage

2 A Century Ago
A Foreign Country 50
A North Atlantic Quadrangle
Proximity to the Fulcrum of Power
A French Leader Opens the Show: René Viviani
After the French Come the British: Arthur Balfour

3 United Kingdom
Introduction
Winston Churchill
Anthony Eden, Foreign Secretary
Clement Attlee
Anthony Eden, Prime Minister
Harold Macmillan
Margaret Thatcher
Tony Blair
David Cameron

4 Old Commonwealth
Introduction
Robert Menzies, Australia
John Curtin, Australia
Peter Fraser, New Zealand
John Howard, Australia

5 New Commonwealth
Introduction
Jawaharlal Nehru, India
Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistan
Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana
Indira Gandhi, India
Nelson Mandela, African National Congress South Africa

6 France
Introduction
Charles de Gaulle, Free France
Vincent Auriol, France
Guy Mollet, France
François Mitterrand,France
François Hollande, France

7 United States
Introduction
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
John F. Kennedy
Richard M. Nixon
Ronald Reagan
Bill Clinton
Barack Obama

8 Mexico
Introduction
Luis Echeverría
José López Portillo
Miguel de la Madrid
Carlos Salinas
Ernesto Zedillo
Vicente Fox
Felipe Calderón

9 Asia
Introduction
Madame Chiang Kai-shek, China
Sukarno, Indonesia
Masayoshi Ohira, Japan
Zhao Ziyang, China
Yasuhiro Nakasone, Japan
Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan

10 Middle Europe
Introduction
Giovanni Gronchi, Italy
Theodor Heuss, Federal Republic of Germany
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
Helmut Kohl, Federal Republic of Germany

11 Eastern Europe
Introduction
Edvard Bene¨, Czechoslovakia
Boris Yeltsin, Russian Federation
Václav Havel, Czech Republic
Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine
Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine

12 Middle East
Introduction
Chaim Herzog, Israel
King Hussein Bin Talal of Jordan

13 Transnational Leaders
Introduction
U Thant, United Nations
Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, United Nations
Kofi Annan, United Nations
Aga Khan IV

Epilogue: Voices in Time
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Photograph Credits