Mulroney, Brian (Martin Brian Mulroney) (mŭlrō`nē, –r

`nē), 1939–, Canadian prime minister (1984–93). Raised in Quebec in a working class family, Mulroney was a successful bilingual lawyer who became active in provincial politics in the 1970s. In 1983 he was elected both national leader of the Progressive Conservative party Progressive Conservative party, former Canadian political party, formed in 1942 by the merger of the Progressive and Conservative parties. Beginning with the first Canadian prime minister, John A.
..... Click the link for more information. and to Parliament. In 1984 he became prime minister. In 1987 he negotiated a free trade agreement with the United States; in 1992 Canada, the United States, and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), accord establishing a free-trade zone in North America; it was signed in 1992 by Canada, Mexico, and the United States and took effect on Jan. 1, 1994.
..... Click the link for more information. (NAFTA). Mulroney tried, through the failed Meech Lake Accord Meech Lake Accord, set of constitutional reforms designed to induce Quebec to accept the Canada Act . The Accord's five basic points, proposed by Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa, include a guarantee of Quebec's special status as a "distinct society" and a commitment
..... Click the link for more information. , to settle the problem of the constitutional status of Quebec. In 1992 he engineered a subsequent constitutional compromise on the problem of provincial autonomy; it was defeated in a national referendum. Mulroney resigned in 1993 in the midst of a recession.

Mulroney, (Martin) Brian

Brian Mulroney, 1993.

(credit: Rick Friedman/Black Star)

(born March 20, 1939, Baie-Comeau, Que., Can.) Prime minister of Canada (1984–93). The son of an electrician in a paper-and-pulp town, he grew up bilingual in English and French. He began practicing law in Montreal in 1965. In 1974 he served on a commission to investigate crime in Quebec's construction industry. From 1977 to 1983 he was president of the Iron Ore Company. Elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1983, he became prime minister when the party defeated the Liberals in the general election in 1984. Creating a coalition of Quebec nationalists and western conservatives, he advocated unification while recognizing Quebec as a “distinct society.” He sought U.S. cooperation on acid rain and trade policies and helped negotiate NAFTA. He retired from politics in 1993.