O.D. Skelton

When O.D. Skelton became Prime Minister Mackenzie King's foreign policy advisor in 1923, he was already a celebrated critic of the status quo in international and domestic affairs, a loyal Liberal Party man, and a fervent nationalist who believed Canada needed to steer a path independent of Britain. Two years later, he became the permanent head of Canada's Department of External Affairs. Between then and his tragic death in 1941, Skelton created Canada's professional diplomatic service, staffing it with sharp young men such as Lester B. Pearson. Skelton's importance in Ottawa was unparalleled, and his role in shaping Canada's world was formative and crucial. Using research from archives across Canada and around the world, Norman Hillmer presents Skelton not only as a towering intellectual force but as deeply human - deceptively quiet, complex, and driven by an outsize ambition for himself and for his country. O.D. Skelton is the definitive biography of the most influential public servant in Canada's history, written by one of the most prolific Canadian historians of international affairs and the editor of Skelton's voluminous papers.

'Hillmer's masterful biography of Skelton helps us to see Skelton who he was... This is the work of a senior scholar who knows what he is doing and knows his subject.' -- Christopher Dummitt Acadiensis vol 65:01:2016 'Hillmer's biography will be indispensable to future students of Canadian government and politics.' -- Kenneth C. Dewar Canadian Historical Review vol 97:02:2016 'Norman Hillmer's 2015 masterful biography of Skelton helps us to see Skelton for who he was... This is the work of a senior scholar who knows what he is doing, and knows his subject.' -- Christopher Dummitt Acadiensis, vol 45:01:2016 'The greatest compliment one may pay to this book is that it is worthy of its subject.' -- Hector MacKenzie British Journal of Canadian Studies vol 29:02:2016

Norman Hillmer is a professor of History and International Affairs at Carleton University, an award-winning teacher, and the author or editor of twenty-nine books.