CBC News: the fifth estate - Money, Truth & Spin: Key Characters, Brian Mulroney

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KEY CHARACTERS

Brian Mulroney

Karlheinz Schreiber

Frank Moores

Brian Mulroney

Brian Mulroney was born in Baie-Comeau, Quebec on March 20th, 1939.

Mulroney attended St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He began studying law at Dalhousie University then transferred to the University of Laval where he got his law degree. He was called to the Quebec bar in 1964.

Becoming a politician

Mulroney's first major attempt at national power took place in 1976 when he ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party. His name was put into nomination by then Newfoundland Premier Frank Moores.

After losing his leadership bid, Mulroney joined the Iron Ore Company of Canada, eventually becoming the company's president.

In 1982 and early-1983 several close associates of Mulroney's, including Moores, lawyer Michel Cogger and Elmer Mackay, organized a movement to get rid of Tory leader Joe Clark. Also involved in the dump-Clark movement was a new Canadian from Germany named Karlheinz Schreiber.

Schreiber spent thousands of dollars to send newly-minted Tory delegates to the 1983 PC convention in Winnipeg with the mission of voting against Clark in a confidence vote. The anti-Clark delegates kept Clark's approval rating below 70 percent. Clark viewed the percentage as too low and called a leadership convention.

Mulroney became leader of the PC party on June 11th, 1983. To allow him to take his seat in Parliament Elmer Mackay stepped down as Member of Parliament from the Nova Scotia riding of Central Nova. Mulroney won the riding in a by-election on August 29, 1983.

Mulroney wins 1983 by-election.

A new Prime Minister

A year later, he ran in a Quebec riding in the federal election. On September 4, he led his party to one of the biggest majority governments in history, winning 211 seats.

Mulroney won another majority government in 1988 after a bitter campaign fueled by the emotional issue of free trade.

During his nine years in office Mulroney brought in the Goods and Services Tax and two free trade agreements. He was also a leading voice among Western leaders opposing South Africa's Apartheid regime.

In 1987 Mulroney launched his ill-fated effort to persuade Quebec to sign on to the constitution which Premier Rene Levesque refused to endorse when it was repatriated from Britain in 1982. The Meech Lake Accord, as it was known, would have recognized Quebec as a distinct society. The accord died on June 23, 1990 when Newfoundland and Manitoba failed to ratify it.

Mulroney stepped down as Prime Minister on June 25, 1993, but served as an MP until the federal election later that year.

Mulroney's return to private life

After leaving politics, Mulroney returned to his old law firm of Oglivy Renault, eventually becoming a senior partner in the firm. He also joined the boards of Barrick Gold Corporation and the U.S. grains giant Archer Daniels Midland.

Then Minister of Justice Allan Rock apologizes to Brian Mulroney on behalf of the government.

In 1995, Mulroney sued the federal government for $50 million for libel. He launched the suit after a letter the Department of Justice wrote to Swiss authorities became public. Mulroney, the letter alleged, had received kickbacks during his time in office, and the RCMP wanted access to Moores and Schreiber's records to help in their investigation.

Mulroney and the federal government settled the suit in early January, 1997. Mulroney received an apology from the government and later received an arbitrated judgment for $2.1 million for fees associated with his lawsuit.

When the RCMP ended its Airbus investigation on April 22, 2003 it said "the RCMP has now concluded that the remaining allegations cannot be substantiated and that no charges will be laid..."

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Controversial books about Mulroney

Shortly after settling the case Mulroney began numerous interviews with author William Kaplan in the preparation for a sympathetic book called Presumed Guilty, which examined his legal battles with the government over Airbus affair.

Mulroney and Kaplan would have a falling out when the author learned that Mulroney had received $300,000 in cash from Karlheinz Schreiber between 1993 and the end of 1994. Mulroney began receiving money from Schreiber soon after stepping down as Prime Minister. Kaplan detailed the payments in a Globe and Mail article and a follow up book title A Secret Trial.

Read an excerpt from this book.

In June 2004 Mulroney was one of the few foreign dignitaries asked to give a eulogy for President Ronald Reagan.

Last year, Mulroney was hospitalized after a serious bout of pancreatitis.

Also last year Mulroney became the subject of widespread media coverage after the publication of The Secret Mulroney Tapes, written by Peter C. Newman. The book printed Mulroney's unfiltered and harsh opinions on numerous Canadian politicians including Kim Campbell, Jean Chretien and Joe Clark. Mulroney filed a lawsuit against Newman, claiming the taped conversation were supposed to have been used for a serious book about his administration.

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