Peter MacKay

MacKay, Peter (məkā') , 1966–, Canadian politician, b. New Glasgow, N.S. A lawyer who briefly worked (1992–93) in Germany, MacKay returned to his native Nova Scotia in 1993 and became a crown attorney. Elected to the federal parliament as a Progressive Conservative in 1997, he became Tory House leader, a position he held until 2002, when he resigned to run for the party leadership. In 2003, the youthful MacKay was chosen to succeed Joe Clark as leader of the Progressive Conservative party, winning in part because he agreed not to seek a merger with the Canadian Alliance. A few months later, however, he led his party into a merger with the Alliance to form the Conservative party of Canada, and subsequently became the new party's deputy leader. After the party came to power in 2006, he served as foreign affairs minister (2006–7) and defense minister (2007–).