Canada's Brian Mulroney

R. Carney of Puyallup, Wash., asks, 'Whatever happened to...?'

In Canada's 1984 general election, Brian Mulroney led the Conservatives to a landslide victory, winning the largest number of seats (211) in history.

"You won't recognize Canada, 20 years from now," declared the then-most-popular man in the country, as he launched the two major projects of his administration: the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Meech Lake Accord. NAFTA was approved in 1988. But Meech Lake, which addressed Quebec's constitutional status, was never ratified and finally was rejected in a 1992 referendum. The two-term prime minister's popularity was slipping when he left politics in 1993.

The lawyer and father of four now serves on the boards of many law firms and companies. He is also attempting a comeback in public affairs and strongly criticized Canada's stand on Kosovo. (Mulroney is married to a Serb.)

Since 1995, Mulroney has been trying to clear himself of federal charges that he took kickbacks while in office. He has won an initial settlement, but the case continues. He declined to speak with the Monitor.

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