The Honourable Alastair Gillespie, P.C, O.C. has had a successful career as a Minister of the Crown and in the business world.  Born in Victoria, British Columbia, Gillespie attended Brentwood College School, McGill University and then Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.  Gillespie was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament for the Toronto riding of Etobicoke in the 1968 election. He was re-elected in the 1972 and 1974 elections, and held various ministerial positions including:  Industry, Trade and Commerce; Energy, Mines and Resources; State for Science and Technology; and Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board.  His record of community service spans four decades and includes a leadership role as former Director of the Spinal Cord Centre at Toronto’s Lyndhurst Hospital, former Director of the National Ballet School and former President of the Canadian Opera Company.  In 1998 he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada for his service in politics and community service.  Mr. Gillespie is a long-time governor of the Scottish Studies Foundation and has been a strong supporter of the Scottish Studies program at the University of Guelph.