Philippe Gigantès

Philippe Deane Gigantès (August 16, 1923 – December 9, 2004) was a veteran of the Second World War, journalist, war correspondent, POW of the Korean War, author, television commentator, Greek minister of culture, and Canadian senator.

The Hon. Philippe Gigantès
Senator from De Lorimier, Quebec
In office 1984–1998
Appointed by	Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	Raymond Eudes
Succeeded by	Joan Fraser
Associate Minister of Culture (Greece)
In office 1964–1965
Appointed by	Constantine II of Greece
Preceded by	TBD
Succeeded by	post abolished by Greek military junta of 1967–1974
Personal details
Born	Philippe Deane Gigantès August 16, 1923 Salonica, Greece
Died	December 9, 2004 (aged 81) Montreal, Quebec
Nationality	Greek 1923-1965 Canadian 1970-2004
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Sylvie Bedard Gigantès
Children	Eleni, Claire and Eve Marie
Residence	Montreal, Quebec
Alma mater	University of Toronto
Profession	journalist, author

War and journalism

Gigantès served in the British Royal Navy during the Second World War. After the war, he became a journalist, working for the London Observer, in Greece, North Africa, and South Asia, from 1946 to 1961.

Whilst covering the Korean War he was taken prisoner, and spent 33 months in a North Korean prison camp. During this time he was interned with George Blake.[1] After his release he wrote the book I was a Captive in Korea and returned to his career in journalism. He became the Washington correspondent for the London Observer and The Globe and Mail.[2]

From the 1965 to 1970s was a journalist, who left Greece for Canada via US and then landed in Canada in 1965.[3] During the 1970s he was speech writer and top aide to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.[4]

Greek Minister of Culture

After his career in journalism he worked as a United Nations official and then as Secretary-General to King Constantine II of Greece. In 1964 he was appointed to the post of associate Greek Minister of Culture and left before the 1967 coup. He later resumed his career in the media as a television commentator[2] from 1965 to 1970s.

Academic career and Canadian civil servant

From 1965 to 1968 completed his Bachelor of Arts, Master and PhD at the University of Toronto.[5]

After his graduation he served as Dean of Arts at Bishop's University and Dean of Arts and Science at University of Lethbridge.[5]

In the 1970s he served with the Official Languages Commission and the Treasury Board.[5]

Canadian Senator

In 1980 he ran for MP in the Canadian riding of Broadview-Greenwood, but was defeated by Bob Rae. In 1984 while working as an editorialist at the Montreal Gazette he was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Pierre Trudeau, for whom he had worked between 1978 and 1980 as a researcher then head of the Liberal Caucus Research Office. He served in the Senate until his 75th birthday in 1998.

While in the Senate he served on many committees but was particularly proud of his work as chair of an adhoc committee on the future of work. His report of this work was published by Parliament under the title Only Work Works and in French under the title "Il n'y a que le Travail qui Vaille.

Electoral record

1980 Canadian federal election: Broadview—Greenwood
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	New Democratic	Bob Rae	12,953	40.37
	Liberal	Philippe Gigantès	10,601	33.04
	Progressive Conservative	Michael Clarke	7,677	23.92
	Libertarian	Walter Belej	352	1.10
	Rhinoceros	Vicki Butterfield	196	0.61
	Communist	Ed McDonald	164	0.51
	National	Don Hayward	53	0.17
	Marxist–Leninist	Dorothy-Jean O'Donnell	53	0.17
	Independent	Milorad Novich	40	0.12
Total valid votes			32,089	100.00
Rejected, unmarked and declined ballots			270
Turnout			32,359	70.04
Electors on the lists			46,204

Author

He was the author of 15 books including I Should Have Died,[2] Is the Free Trade Deal Really for You? (1988) and Power and Greed: A Short History of the World (2002).

In his book Nice Work: The Continuing Scandal of Canada's Senate, journalist and author Claire Hoy wrote that Gigantes, during a filibuster in the Senate, read one of his books into the record; another senator suggested that he did this to get the work translated into French for free by parliamentary staff responsible for Hansard.

Death

Gigantès died on December 9, 2004 of prostate cancer in Montreal. He left behind his wife Sylvie, three daughters Eleni, Claire and Eve Marie, two grandsons and a granddaughter. His ashes were scattered in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea near Kefalonia, Greece.[4]

References

1. Roger Hermiston (2013) The Greatest Traitor: The Secret Lives of Agent George Blake, Aurum Press, London, ISBN 978-1-78131-046-5
2. Deane Philip, I Should Have Died, published by Atheneum, New York (1977), biography on the inside cover
3. https://www.amazon.co.uk/should-Philip-Deane-Philippe-Gigantes/dp/0689107668
4. "Former Liberal senator Philippe Gigantes dies". CBC News. December 9, 2004. Retrieved 2018-03-28.
5. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19840114&id=AQ0vAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U6UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1086,1321631

External links

• Philippe Gigantès – Parliament of Canada biography