Lewis W. MacKenzie

Lewis W. MacKenzie, soldier, peacekeeper (born 30 Apr 1940 at Truro, NS). Major-General MacKenzie received his commission in 1960 with the Queen's Own Rifles and performed his first peacekeeping duty in the Gaza Strip in 1963. He returned to Gaza in 1964 and then served with the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus in 1965. He was promoted to Major in 1971 and commanded a regiment in another peacekeeping tour of Cyprus. In 1972 MacKenzie was selected to serve with the International Committee of Control and Supervision in Viet Nam. A tour of duty in 1973 sent him to Cairo on another peacekeeping mission. His third peacekeepeing tour of Cyprus in 1978 followed his promotion to Lt-Col. MacKenzie received a series of domestic commands and was promoted to Brigadier General in 1987.

In 1990 he was given command of the UN Observer Mission to Central America. He became Chief of Staff for the UN Protection Force in Yugoslavia in 1992. Upon his return to Canada he was given command of the Army of Ontario. MacKenzie retired from the Armed Forces in 1993. He published a book, Peacekeeper, in 1993, in which he chronicled his peacekeeping experiences from around the world, and the following year hosted a CBC-TV documentary (A Soldier's Peace) based on his book. He ran unsuccessfully for the Conservatives in the Ontario riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka in the 1997 federal election. MacKenzie is a Senior Research Fellow at the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies. A long-time devotee of motor racing, MacKenzie was National Sports Car Champion in 1981.