Officer of the Order of Canada

• Awarded on: October 10, 2002
• Invested on: May 09, 2003

Executive Director of UNICEF for 26 years, he showed great compassion in his drive to improve living conditions for children in developing countries. He worked tirelessly to eliminate iodine deficiency disorders, led disaster and famine relief projects around the globe and was a key player in the creation of UNICEF's major fundraising event that encourages youngsters to collect coins on Halloween. In collaboration with Elections Canada, he helped to launch the National Election for the Rights of Youth. Nearly 775,000 Canadian schoolchildren participated in the first national child elections held in an industrialized country.