{"record":{"aliases":[],"appointmentIds":["canada-9188036b7f3035"],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/lester-b-pearson-10184d29a3/","countrySlug":"canada","entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/lester-b-pearson-10184d29a3/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Lester Bowles Pearson taught history at the University of Toronto before joining External Affairs in 1928. Wartime service in London was followed by Washington, where he became minister-counsellor in 1942 and ambassador in 1945. He chaired the interim commission that helped establish the Food and Agriculture Organization and a supplies committee of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.","After returning to Ottawa, Pearson became under-secretary and then secretary of state for external affairs. He helped develop NATO and, during the 1956 Suez crisis, secured support for a United Nations emergency force to separate the combatants. That initiative earned him the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize.","As prime minister from 1963 to 1968, Pearson promoted bilingualism, adopted a new national flag, and introduced major social programs, including medicare and the Canada Pension Plan. He subsequently worked on international development."],"id":"canada:lester b. pearson","identifiers":{},"legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-10184d29a3fb2221123d.html","name":"Lester B. Pearson","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["dcb-bio"],["dcb-bio","nobel-bio"],["parks-bio","dcb-bio"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-10184d29a3fb2221123d.html","relatedEvents":[],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-10-28","revision":"605a2b998d3fc6ec","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"","id":"dcb-bio","locator":"Career narrative; Washington and post-retirement sections","publisher":"Dictionary of Canadian Biography, University of Toronto/Université Laval","title":"Pearson, Lester Bowles","type":"scholarship","url":"https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/pearson_lester_bowles_20E.html"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"","id":"nobel-bio","locator":"Laureate biography","publisher":"Norwegian Nobel Institute","title":"Lester Bowles Pearson — 1957","type":"institutional-history","url":"https://www.nobelpeaceprize.org/laureates/1957"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"","id":"parks-bio","locator":"Plaque text","publisher":"Parks Canada","title":"Pearson, Lester Bowles National Historic Person","type":"institutional-history","url":"https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=1261"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"","id":"mission-d587f6ca86635dd54b80","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"Lester B. Pearson — mission record (1945–1946)","type":"Mission record","url":"https://w05.international.gc.ca/CHOMA-CDMCE/Posting/View/2366"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"Accessed 21 October 2026","id":"mission-3c9e89462afdcdc1960d","locator":"Tenure chronology; pre-1989 appointments belong to earlier chancery buildings.","publisher":"","title":"Canadian ambassadors to the United States: roster","type":"Mission record","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ambassadors_of_Canada_to_the_United_States"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"","id":"mission-948bef75248ebd44d449","locator":"","publisher":"","title":"Lester B. Pearson — mission record (1945–1946)","type":"Mission record","url":"https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1957/pearson/facts/"}],"topics":["United Nations","Suez crisis","NATO","social policy"]},"schemaVersion":1}