The Honourable Bill Graham, P.C., C.M., Q.C.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada | Co-Chair, Creative Destruction Lab

Bill Graham is Chancellor at Trinity College, University of Toronto and a former politician. Bill comprehends university politics at the highest levels and is a master negotiator. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs during the period following 9/11 (appointed by Prime Minister Jean Chretien), navigating increased unilateralism of American foreign policy alongside his American counterpart, Colin Powell. In the months leading up to the 2003 American- led invasion of Iraq, he and the Prime Minister articulated a position of opposition to military action without either an unambiguous authorizing resolution by the UN Security Council or clear evidence that Saddam Hussein’s regime was in violation of the obligations to disarm it had accepted after the 1991 Gulf War. He subsequently served as Minister of National Defence (appointed by Prime Minster Paul Martin, 2004), during which time he worked on issues such as the Ballistic Missile Defence program with his US counterpart, Donald Rumsfeld. He is also an early and mid-stage investor in many Canadian technology firms.