The Honourable Donald Johnston joined the law firm of Stikeman Elliott in 1961. In 1973, he was a founding partner of Johnston Heenan Blaikie. Elected to the House of Commons, he joined the Cabinet of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1978. From 1980 to 1984, Johnston successively held senior Cabinet positions and served as Minister of Justice and Attorney General. He then served as President of the Liberal Party of Canada from 1990 to 1994. In 1994, Johnston was elected Secretary-General of the OECD. He began his mandate in 1996 and was elected to a second term in 2001. In 2006, Johnston rejoined Heenan Blaikie as a member of the International Business Law Group. He was Chair and is currently Chair Emeritus to the McCall MacBain Foundation. From 2006 until 2010, he was Chairman of the International Risk Governance Council. He was given the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal and the Canadian Version of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to Canada. He was also awarded prestigious decorations from Japan, Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, France and Canada. He attended McGill University receiving his BA and graduating as the Gold Medallist from the University’s Faculty of Law in 1958.
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