Rt Hon Jeanne Sauve
The Right. Honourable Jeanne Sauve was born in Prudhomme, Sask. and educated in Ottawa and Paris.
After marrying Maurice Sauve, she lived in Montreal, where she worked as a radio, television and print journalist who made great efforts to improve the status of women and society at large.
As a Member of Parliament, she was also chosen as the first woman speaker of the House of Commons. The first female French-Canadian cabinet minister, she held the portfolios of communication and the environment. As Minister of State for Science and Technology she worked to ensure that Canada would be a world leader in technology.
She was appointed to the position of governor general by Prime Minister Trudeau in 1984 and served until 1990. While serving as GG, she established the Jeanne Sauve Foundation with emphasis on the Sauve Scholars Program. Its purpose is to empower and equip emerging leaders from around the world to deal with global problems.
When in 1991 she opened the National Conference for Young Leaders, Sauve said that leaders "must have an inspired vision of the changes they want to make and be prepared to consecrate all their energy to that purpose."
The current crop of Sauve Scholars are from diverse nations including Uganda, Cuba, Iran, Vietnam, Senegal and Poland.
This iconic Canadian died in Montreal in 1993. College Jeanne-Sauve in Winnipeg is just one of many schools across Canada have been named in her honour.