Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Maxwell Charles Gordon Meighen,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(June 5, 1908 – February 5, 1992) was a Canadian

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of in ...

and the son of

Canadian Prime Minister The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons; as such, the prime minister typically sits as a ...

Arthur Meighen Arthur Meighen ( ; June 16, 1874 – August 5, 1960) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the ninth prime minister of Canada from 1920 to 1921 and from June to September 1926. He led the Conservative Party from 1920 to 1926 and ...

Life and career

Meighen was born in

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. In 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Highway (exactly ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. He graduated from the

Royal Military College Royal Military College may refer to: ;Australia * Royal Military College, Duntroon, Campbell, Australian Capital Territory ;Canada * Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, Ontario * Royal Military College Saint-Jean, Saint-Jean, Quebec ;Indi ...

and the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with the

Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers The Corps of Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (RCEME) () is a personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces (CF) that provides army engineering maintenance support. All members of the corps wear army uniform. From the 1980s to ...

in Europe and retired with the rank of Colonel. He then took over the investment companies founded by his father. In 1961, as

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

and director of Canadian General Investments Ltd., he entered the consortium of financiers, headed by Bud McDougald, that owned the

Argus Corporation The Argus Corporation was an investment holding company based in Toronto, Ontario. During the 1960s and 1970s, it was the most powerful and best known conglomerate in Canada, at one time controlling the companies making up 10 percent of all shar ...

. As an Argus director, he was also a member of the boards of some of the largest Canadian companies, including

Domtar Domtar Corporation is a leading, privately held manufacturer of diversified forest products, with a workforce of roughly 14,000 employees in more than 60 locations across North America. While Domtar operated independently for several decades a ...

Massey Ferguson Massey Ferguson is an agricultural machinery manufacturer, established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson Company of Ireland. It was based in Coventry then moved to Beauvais in 2003 when ...

, Dominion Stores and Hollinger Mines. Meighen resigned from Argus in 1978 when it was taken over by

Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-British writer and former politician, Publishing, newspaper publisher, Investor, financier, and Fraudster, convicted fraudster. Black's father was businessma ...

, Montegu Black and Hal Jackman. He later became chairman and director of Canadian General Investments. Meighen died in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1992.

References

External links

"Maxwell Charles Gordon Meighen"
. ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' Maxwell Meighen 1908 births 1992 deaths Businesspeople from Ontario Canadian military personnel of World War II Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent Children of prime ministers of Canada People from Portage la Prairie Royal Military College of Canada alumni University of Toronto alumni Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Canadian people of Scottish descent {{Canada-business-bio-stub