George Pavlovich Ignatieff (1913-1989) was a noted Russian-Canadian diplomat whose career spanned nearly five decades. His many postings included Canadian Ambassador to Yugoslavia (1956-1958), Assistant Undersecretary of State for External Affairs (1960-1962), Permanent Representative to NATO (1963), and Canadian Ambassador to the UN (1966-1969). He served as the ninth Provost and Vice-chancellor of Trinity College (1970-1979), and Chancellor of the University of Toronto (1980-1986).
The fonds consist of records pertaining to George Ignatieff's professional career and personal life. Genealogical information about the Ignatieff family documents their lives in Russia and immigration to Canada. Family records include memoirs, diaries, photographs, student records, journals, and correspondence. Ignatieff's professional life as a diplomat with the Canadian government is doucmented by correspondence, subject files, speeches, reports, newspaper clippings, and photographs.
Of particular interest to Russian and East European studies are memoirs of Ignatieff family members reflecting on their lives in 19th-century Russia and immigration to Canada following the Bolshevik Revolution. Ignatieff's professional records include subject files relating to his trips to Russia in the 1980s; a diary, correspondence, and mementos of his trip to Russia in 1983; plus correspondence, reports, memoranda, newspaper articles, etc. on his visit to Moscow in 1955. Ignatieff also gave speeches on the topic of Russia and corresponded with the Centre for Russian and East European Studies (CREES).