Michael Ignatieff
A Canadian intellectual who traded the lecture halls of Harvard and Cambridge for the bruising arena of politics, leading his party through a seismic defeat.
Born 1947 (age 79)·Canadian author, academic and former politician·Birthday: May 12·Baby Boomers
Biography
Michael Ignatieff lived a life of the mind on a global stage long before he entered politics. The son of a Russian-born Canadian diplomat, he built a formidable career as a historian and public moralist, writing on human rights, nationalism, and biography from posts at Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard. His books, like 'The Warrior's Honor,' grappled with the ethical dilemmas of intervention in Bosnia and Rwanda. In 2005, he answered a call to return to Canada and serve, winning a seat in Parliament and swiftly becoming a frontrunner for the Liberal Party leadership. His tenure as leader, however, coincided with a resurgent Conservative government; his academic nuance was often framed as elitist detachment in the political fray. The 2011 election resulted in a historic collapse for the Liberals, reducing them to third-party status and ending Ignatieff's political chapter. He returned to academia with characteristic grace, leading Central European University during its tense exile from Hungary, proving that some minds are built for diagnosing the world's conflicts, not necessarily winning its elections.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Michael was born in 1947, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Michael Was Born
The biggest hits of 1947
#1 Movie
The Egg and I
Best Picture
Gentleman's Agreement
Michael's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1947Born
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1952Started school
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1960Became a teenager
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1963Could drive
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1965Could vote
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1968Turned 21
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1977Turned 30
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 40
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 50
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 60
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 70
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2026Age 79 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as Leader of the Official Opposition in Canada and head of the Liberal Party from 2008 to 2011.
- Held senior academic positions at Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Toronto.
- Served as President and Rector of Central European University from 2016 to 2021, steering it through a forced relocation from Budapest.
- Authored over 20 books, including 'The Russian Album,' which won the Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction.
Did You Know?
He is a descendant of the Russian aristocratic Ignatiev family through his paternal grandfather.
Ignatieff hosted a BBC television series called 'Blood and Belonging' about nationalism in the 1990s.
He was a Booker Prize finalist for his novel 'Scar Tissue.'
Before entering politics, he served on the independent International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty.
“Liberalism is not a philosophy of easy choices. It’s a philosophy of hard choices.”
