John Hnatyshyn

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Mykhaylovych and the family name is Hnatyshyn.

The Honourable John Hnatyshyn QC
Senator for Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
In office January 15, 1959 – May 2, 1967
Appointed by	Vincent Massey
Personal details
Born	(1907-01-20)January 20, 1907 Vashkivtsi, Duchy of Bukovina, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now Chernivtsi Oblast, Ukraine)
Died	May 2, 1967(1967-05-02) (aged 60)
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Other political affiliations	Saskatchewan Progressive Conservative
Spouse	Helen Constance Pitts ​ ​ (m. 1931)​
Children	4, including Ray
Residence(s)	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Alma mater	University of Saskatchewan
Profession	lawyer

John Hnatyshyn QC (/nəˈtɪʃən/ nə-TISH-ən; Ukrainian: Іва́н Миха́йлович Гнати́шин, romanized: Iván Mykháylovych Hnatýshyn, IPA: [iˈwɑn mɪˈxɑjlowɪdʒ ɦnɐˈtɪʃɪn]; January 20, 1907 – May 2, 1967) was a Ukrainian Canadian lawyer, Senator and father of Ray Hnatyshyn, the twenty-fourth governor general of Canada.

Early life and career

Born in the mostly Ukrainian northern part of the Austro-Hungarian Duchy of Bukovina,[1] the son of Michael and Anna, Hnatyshyn came to Canada when he was two months old.[2] Raised on a farm near Canora, Saskatchewan, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1930 and a Bachelor of Law degree in 1932 from the University of Saskatchewan.[2] He was called to the Saskatchewan bar in 1933 and practised law in Saskatoon, co-founding the firm of Kyle, Ferguson and Hnatyshyn in 1942 and becoming Queen's Counsel in 1957.[2]

While attending university in Saskatoon, he resided at the Petro Mohyla Ukrainian Institute, where he met Helen Pitts.[3] They married in 1931 and had four children: Ramon, Victor, David and Elizabeth.[2][3]

Politics

In the 1935, 1940 and 1945 federal elections, he tried unsuccessfully to get elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a Conservative candidate for the riding of Yorkton.[2][4][n 1] He also ran unsuccessfully for the provincial legislature as a Progressive Conservative candidate for Saskatoon City in 1952.[2]

In 1959, he was appointed by John Diefenbaker to the Senate representing the senatorial division of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, becoming Canada's first Ukrainian-born senator.[5][6][n 2] He died in office in 1967.[4]

Notes

1. He ran in 1935 as part of the original Conservative Party of Canada. That party contested the 1940 election under the "National Government" moniker, then became the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada in 1942.
2. Canada's first senator of Ukrainian descent, William Michael Wall, was born in Manitoba.

References

1. Bociurkiw, Michael B. (6 July 1986). "Ukrainian becomes justice minister in major Canadian Cabinet shuffle". The Ukrainian Weekly. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
2. "Combined Virtues - Saskatchewan's Ukrainian Legacy: Politics". Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
3. "Honorary Degrees: Helen Constance Hnatyshyn". University of Saskatchewan. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
4. "Profile – Hnatyshyn, John". Library of Parliament. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
5. Hillmer, Norman; Kucharsky, Danny (28 February 2018). "Ray Natyshyn". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
6. Welsh, Teresa. "Hnatyshyn, Ramon John (1934–2002)". University of Regina. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.

External links

• John Hnatyshyn – Parliament of Canada biography