Master of Persuasion: Brian Mulroney’s Global Legacy.“On the tenth anniversary of our democracy,” Mr. Mandela wrote, “one recalls the momentous time of our transition and remembers the people involved both within and outside South Africa. As prime minister of Canada, you provided strong and principled leadership in the battle against apartheid … South Africans today acknowledge the importance of your contribution to our eventual liberation success.
At one memorable meeting with Ms. Thatcher at Montreal’s Mirabel Airport, where her plane had touched down on its way back to London from Vancouver, Mr. Mulroney took up the case of sanctions. Canada’s undersecretary of state, James “Si” Taylor, who was with Mr. Mulroney, recalled: “At this meeting, she ranted on for half to three-quarters of an hour. She scorched him up and down and sideways.”
Mr. Mulroney further transformed Canada’s relations with the rest of the world when he made Canada a full-fledged member of the Organization of American States, the principal juridical and political intergovernmental body in the Western Hemisphere – a decision previous governments eschewed. The Francophonie, otherwise known as the commonwealth of French-speaking nations, formally came into existence when Canada and Quebec took their respective seats with his approval.