Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker to Address Class of 1960

January 21, 1960

January 21, 1960, Greencastle, Ind. - DePauw University's 121st commencement exercises, scheduled for Sunday, June 5, will feature an address by the Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker, prime minister of Canada. The 4 p.m. ceremony, to be held in Blackstock Stadium, will climax the traditional Alumni Day-Commencement weekend program on the campus.

Prime Minister Diefenbaker will become the third world leader to appear at a DePauw event in the past three years. British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan delivered the University's commencement address in 1958, and U.S. Vice President Richard M. Nixon (pictured below) spoke on DePauw's Business and Industry Day in May 1957. 

Diefenbaker has served as Canada's prime minister since June 1957 and has been elected to the House of Commons six times since 1940. From 1937 to 1940 he was the head of the Conservative Party in Saskatchewan, and in 1956 he was selected to lead the Progressive Conservative Party in the federal field. He also served as the leader of Her Majesty's Opposition during the fifth session of Canada's 22nd Parliament in the spring of 1957.

Earlier this year, Diefenbaker accompanied Queen Elizabeth when she visited Chicago as part of her royal tour. Last year, he visited 17 Commonwealth and NATO countries during the course of a 35,000-mile, six-week world tour.

Born in Grey County, Ontario, Diefenbaker earned the bachelor of arts, master of arts and bachelor of laws degrees from the University of Saskatchewan between 1915 and 1919. He served overseas with the Canadian Army during World War I and currently is an honorary colonel in the North Saskatechwan Regiment of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps.

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