Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who led the country from 1984 to 1993, died Thursday at age 84, his daughter announced on social media.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of my father, the Right Honorable Brian Mulroney, the 18th Prime Minister of Canada
,” Caroline Mulroney wrote on X.
“He died peacefully, surrounded by his family
, ”
she added.
This Quebecer left his mark on Canadian political life in the 1980s, notably with the signing of a historic free trade treaty with the United States, later extended to Mexico.
Ambitious and charming, blue eyes, protruding chin and baritone voice, as comfortable in French as in English, he was a lawyer by training and was a business manager before entering politics.
Becoming Prime Minister in 1984, he notably led the charge against the apartheid regime in South Africa, irritating his British counterpart Margaret Thatcher in the process.
And also undertakes a spectacular rapprochement with the United States of Ronald Reagan, after frosty relations under the liberals of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, the father of the current leader.
Widely re-elected in 1988, he was forced to resign five years later and retired with the worst popularity rating ever recorded, while the economy was faltering and unemployment was at its highest.
“Brian Mulroney loved Canada.
It is with great sadness that I learned of his death
,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on X. “He never stopped working for Canadians and always sought to make this country a place best place to live.
I will never forget the advice he gave me over the years.