Michael Ignatieff
Michael Ignatieff is a Canadian academic, writer, and former politician, born on May 12, 1947, in Toronto, Ontario. He pursued his education in history, earning a BA from the University of Toronto and a PhD from Harvard University. Ignatieff has had an extensive teaching career at prestigious institutions, including the University of British Columbia, King's College, Cambridge, and Harvard. He gained recognition in the UK as a journalist and critic, especially for his award-winning BBC series and book, "Blood and Belonging: Journeys into the New Nationalism."
A prominent advocate for human rights, Ignatieff developed the doctrine known as "Responsibility to Protect," emphasizing the obligation of nations to safeguard vulnerable populations. His political career peaked when he became the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and ran for prime minister in 2009, although he faced challenges regarding his long time spent living outside Canada. Ultimately, Ignatieff's political tenure ended in 2011, after a disappointing election result, leading him to return to academia. He has since held positions at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Harvard's Kennedy School, continuing to engage with global political and human rights issues.
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Michael Ignatieff
Author
- Born: May 12, 1947
- Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Biography
Michael Ignatieff was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on May 12, 1947. He attended secondary school at Upper Canada College, then he majored in history at the University of Toronto, graduating with a BA. After graduating, he attended Harvard, where he received his PhD in history in 1976. After that, he taught at the University of British Columbia and King’s College, Cambridge. He also taught at Harvard, Oxford, the University of California, the University of London, and the London School of Economics.
He officially moved to England in 1978. During his time in England, Ignatieff made a name for himself as a journalist and critic, with appearances on television and radio. He produced an award-winning series on nationalism in the twentieth century, Blood and Belonging: Journeys into the New Nationalism, which first aired in 1993, on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). He also wrote a book on the topic, with the same title as his series, which won the Lionel Gelber Award. In the decade that followed, he wrote several more books, on topics ranging from human rights to Middle Eastern politics. He developed a doctrine called the "Responsibility to Protect" where he believed in country's duty to protect others at risk. For example, he supported the wars in Kosovo and Iraq and particularly the United States's involvement in them, as well as the Vietnam War.
He became the head of the Carr Center for Human Rights at the Harvard Kennedy School. On August 26, 2005, Ignatieff announced that he was leaving his teaching job at Harvard to become the Chancellor Jackman Visiting Professor in Human Rights Policy at the University of Toronto. Ignatieff ran for a parliamentary seat in Canada for the Liberal party in 2005. By 2009 Ignatieff was the leader of the party and ran for prime minister. During the campaign, the opposing Conservative party ran ads questioning how in touch Ignatieff could be with the Canadian people after over thirty years living abroad. The ads were effective and Ignatieff lost. By the May 2, 2011 elections, the Liberals had lost favor with the voting public and lost a number of seats, including Ignatieff's. He resigned his post as party leader the following day and left politics.
From 2011 to 2013 he took a teaching position at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. He returned to the Kennedy School at Harvard in 2014, taking up the position of Edward R. Murrow Professor of the Practice of Politics and the Press.
Bibliography
Ignatieff, Michael. Fire and Ashes: Success and Failure in Politics. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 2013. Print.
Ignatieff, Michael. True Patriot Love: Four Generations in Search of Canada. Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2010. Print.
Smith, Jordan Michael. "Michael Ignatieff, the Intellectual Who Wanted to be a Politician." Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media, 17 Nov. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.