Georges Vanier

Major-General Georges-Philéas Vanier was one of Canada's most universally revered public figures. In World War I, Vanier helped organize the famed French-Canadian 22nd Battalion (Royal 22e Régiment, "the Van Doos"), winning the Military Cross and DSO before losing his right leg at Chérisy in 1918.

Vanier served as Canadian Ambassador to France, re-entering Paris alongside Charles de Gaulle in 1944. In 1959, he was appointed the first French-Canadian Governor General of Canada. Revered for his deep spiritual faith, humility, and moral integrity, he and his wife Pauline founded the Vanier Institute of the Family and championed national unity until his death in office in 1967.