Biography

MacDonald graduated from Concordia University (Loyola) in 1969 with an honours degree in political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

. He has been a columnist for the Montreal Gazette and the defunct Montreal Daily News

Montreal Daily News

The Montreal Daily News was a short-lived English language Canadian daily newspaper in Quebec. Quebecor founder Pierre Péladeau and British tabloid publisher Robert Maxwell teamed up to launch a competing English-language newspaper against The Gazette...

, and has been a sessional lecturer at Concordia University

Concordia University

Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...

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He wrote his first book in 1984, a bestseller that covered Brian Mulroney

Brian Mulroney

Martin Brian Mulroney, was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. His tenure as Prime Minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S...

's rise from boyhood to Prime Minister of Canada

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

. MacDonald served as chief speechwriter for Mulroney from 1985–88. He served as Minister of Public Affairs at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC from 1992–94.

MacDonald has published four more books. most recently "Politics, People & Potpourri", selected by CBC as "one of the best political reads" of 2009. He writes frequently for Canadian newspapers, including The Montreal Gazette and Sun Media, and broadcasts on radio and television. He serves as editor in chief of the periodical Policy Options, published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy

Institute for Research on Public Policy

The Institute for Research on Public Policy is Canada's oldest non-partisan public policy think tank. Based in Montreal and founded in 1972, it publishes Policy Options, edited by L. Ian MacDonald...

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He was enshrined in the Concordia University Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 as part of the Loyola College

Loyola College (Montreal)

Loyola College was a Jesuit college in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It ceased to exist when it was incorporated into Concordia University in 1974. A portion of the original College remains as a separate entity called Loyola High School....

 Warriors 1972 hockey team. Their cinderella story (15 win, 1 loss) season took them to the National Championships, where after beating #1 University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

 in double overtime, they lost in the University Cup

University Cup

The University Cup is awarded annually to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport men's ice hockey champions.The trophy was presented to the CIS, for presentation to a national champion starting with the 1962-63 season, by Queen's University and the Royal Military College of Canada...

 final 5-4 to the University of Alberta

University of Alberta

The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...

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Major works

• Brian Mulroney: The Making of the Prime Minister, by L. Ian MacDonald, 1984.
• Free Trade: Risks and Rewards, edited by L. Ian MacDonald, 2000.
• From Bourassa to Bourassa: Wilderness to Restoration, by L. Ian MacDonald, 2002.
• Leo: A Life, by Leo Kolber
  Leo Kolber
  Ernest Leo Kolber, is a Canadian businessman, company director, philanthropist and former Senator.Born in Montreal, Quebec, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949 and a Bachelor of Law in 1952 from McGill University. He was called to the Bar of Quebec in 1952...
  
  , with L. Ian MacDonald, 2003.
• "Politics, People & Potpourri", by L. Ian MacDonald, 2009.

External links

• L. Ian MacDonald's website