When the ballots were counted on this date in 1979 Progressive Conservative Leader Joe Clark had become the youngest-ever Canadian sent to the Prime Minister’s Office.  He was only 39. After Mr. Clark received a strong minority mandate from Canadians he famously announced that he would govern as if he had a majority.  While his government lasted only nine months -- and Pierre Trudeau returned to power in February-March 1980 -- Prime Minister Clark and his team had much to be proud of. Under PM Clark's leadership, Canada played a leading role in settling Vietnamese refugees and in smuggling six American diplomats out of revolutionary Iran. And, I am honoured to note that he has long been a firm supporter of my work in the field of political history, so it is a particular personal pleasure to send Mr. Clark and his family anniversary greetings today. Here is a photo of our 16^th Prime Minister in victory in 1979 and another picture, taken years later, when he planted a ceremonial tree in my Kingston garden. caption id="attachment_558403" align="aligncenter" width="440" Joe Clark in victory, 1979/caption caption id="attachment_558404" align="aligncenter" width="440" Joe Clark plants a tree in Art Milnes' yard, 2011/caption Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist.  He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy.  A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.