Robert Gordon Robertson

Robert Gordon Robertson, CC, public servant (born 19 May 1917 in Davidson, SK ; died 15 January 2013 in Ottawa, ON). Gordon Robertson was educated at the University of Saskatchewan, Oxford and the University of Toronto before joining the Dept of External Affairs in 1941. He worked in the prime minister's office and subsequently as a member of the Cabinet secretariat before becoming deputy minister of northern affairs and national resources (1953-63). Promoted clerk of the Privy Council and Cabinet secretary (1963-75), Robertson was admired for his mental clarity and his efficiency; he was the most influential public servant of his day.

Robert Gordon was secretary to the Cabinet for federal-provincial relations 1975-79, and participated in the constitutional review. After his retirement, he became president of the newly formed Institute for Research on Public Policy in Ottawa, where from 1984 to 1990 he was fellow-in-residence. The Institute published his Northern Provinces: A Mistaken Ideal (1986). In 1990 Robertson assumed the presidency of the Network on the Constitution. Robertson was named a Companion in the Order of Canada in 1976.

Robertson retired from public service in 1979 and subsequently assumed the position as president for the Institute for Research on Public Policy. In 2004, Robertson was instrumental in the creation of a Carleton University scholarship for Inuit students.