“The award which I have received today at this ceremony, which my wife and I will always remember with emotion, is a renewed incentive to work with all other men of good will in the world for the triumph of Ibsen’s third Empire, that of the Empire of Peace.”

This is part of Lester Pearson’s acceptable speech for the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize, which he won for his work negotiating the Suez Canal Crisis. This made him the third Canadian to win a Nobel Peace Prize at that time (the list has since grown to include 23 Canadians, including literary icon Alice Munro) and the only future prime minister to win the coveted award thus far.

Lester “Mike” Pearson was always known for his diplomatic abilities during his long career as a public servant. His diplomatic career started in 1928, when he accepted a position as first secretary in the Canadian Department of External Affairs, and his career quickly developed from there. He participated in the Hague Conference on Codification of International Law, the London Naval Conference and the Geneva World Disarmament Conference - all in a five year span from 1930 to 1935. From 1935 to 1941 he served as High Commissioner for Canada in London before becoming the Canadian ambassador for the United States.

These are just the Coles notes on his long diplomatic career, but they are important to highlight as it was this career that enabled him to negotiated the Suez Canal Crisis, ultimately earning him the illustrious Nobel Peace Prize. Also, this career and award was all before his time in Ottawa and as prime minister.

At a glance, the Suez Canal crisis came to a head when the UK, France and Israel invaded Egyptian territory. For his part, Pearson proposed a resolution which created a UN Emergency Force to monitor and police the area, allowing the invading armies to leave the area alone with minimal PR damage. The event is covered well in the second season of The Crown on Netflix, for anyone curious. He was the first person to win the Nobel Peace Prize in two years, as it wasn’t awarded to 1955 or 1956.

Lester Pearson holding his Nobel Peace Prize, in 1957.

What’s important about a Canadian PM winning the Nobel Peace Prize is that it raises the esteem of the office and the role Canada plays as peacekeepers. With Pearson sharing the award with politicians like the energetic Teddy Roosevelt and more reserved Woodrow Wilson, it increases the reputation of Canadian politicians and their seat at the international table. Basically it helps move them up from the kids’ table to the grown ups table in terms of international talks and international relations. And that, to me, is the mainstay of Pearson’s legacy, paving the way for future PMs to sit at the big boy table, and look good while doing it (the style of that era is enviable).

Pierre Trudeau and Lester Pearson, the Liberal PMs of the 60s and 70s in all of their stylish glory (look at those suits).

And next week, we get stylish with the polarizing Pierre Trudeau, Canada’s most celebrity-like prime minister, and the charisma that oozed out of him with ease.