On this date in 2002 former PM Brian Mulroney returned to Parliament Hill for the first time since he left office in 1993. He was there to attend a ceremony in Centre Block as the 18^th Prime Minister’s official portrait was unveiled. The event was hosted and organized by House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken. You can read the former Prime Minister’s speech that day below. Right Hon. Brian Mulroney: Mr. Speaker and Prime Minister, madame la Présidente du Sénat, chers amis,; I would first like to thank you for your kind and generous words about me. This is a very special occasion for me and my family. I am deeply honoured by your presence and your comments. English I begin by thanking you all for your elegant and generous words. I think those are probably the finest speeches you have ever made in this building. This is indeed a very special moment for me and my family and I am genuinely honoured by your comments and grateful for your presence. I am especially indebted to Igor Babailov, a truly gifted artist, who has done a remarkable job on my portrait, considering what he had to work with. In most Canadian families, when a baby is born, the happy parents count the baby's fingers and toes. When I was born, my parents measured the chin. This was a sobering moment for young parents. But they were optimists and as my father later said to my mom: “Just be thankful, it was before metric”. Through a combination of great skill and sure talent, Igor has neutralized any unduly prominent features, for which I and future visitors to the Prime Minister's Gallery will be eternally grateful. I am genuinely delighted to see you all in such numbers. But then, I was forewarned of such a large turnout, following a conversation I had in New York with Mort Zuckerman who, because of his Canadian origins, was aware of today's ceremony. Mort told me of attending with a friend the funeral of a widely unloved Hollywood movie mogul. Mort gazed around the synagogue just before the funeral service began and was absolutely astonished by the huge turnout. When he commented on the size of the crowd, his friend replied: “Well Mort, give people what they want and they'll turn out in droves!” You know, it's difficult to feel sad on such an occasion but I have mustered a great deal of sympathy for John Turner, a victim of cruel and unusual punishment. He and I now hang side by side in the Prime Minister's gallery and John is condemned to stare at me for eternity. Translation In the 135 years of this magnificent country’s history, only 20 people have born the title Prime Minister. I therefore consider it a remarkable privilege to have been elected, then re-elected to the position. And as most of you are no doubt aware, none of this would have been possible without the love, encouragement and support of Mila and our children, who have given me great pleasure by being here with me today. I would like to introduce Mila and my children. English I was very pleased to see the Prime Minister here today. He is on his way to Prague. I am very grateful that he would take the time to be here. I am also quite surprised. I thought he had retired. My memory is failing somewhat now, so I went back to Hansard and guess what I found? On February 27, 1986, Prime Minister Mulroney speaking in the House on the occasion of Jean Chrétien's retirement from politics, and I quote from Hansard: “Jean Chrétien was a brave and dedicated member who served Canadians and his constituents with energy and dignity. This extremely likeable man has made an unforgettable impression on all Canadians.” Did I say that? I was flipping through my morning copy of the Globe and Mail, of February 28, 1890 and, wouldn't you know, came across a report on the unveiling of Sir John A. Macdonald's prime ministerial portrait. The Globe reports “that the address to Prime Minister Macdonald was as laudatory as the English language would permit”. I find nothing wrong with that custom. The Globe then observed that Sir John A. “told his admiring followers that he was the father of responsible government in Canada, the joint father of Confederation and that the peace, progress and prosperity of the country for the past quarter of a century was wholly due to the Conservative Party”. And some of you thought I was guilty of hyperbole! But then the Globe, in a tradition that has fortunately survived to this day, introduced some measure of balance into its report of the occasion. The Globe continues and concluded, “Someone has said that the chief business of old men is to tell stories which nobody believes and this is pretty much the case with Sir John A.”. The journalist concluded, “Anyone familiar with the history of Canada knows that Sir John was the opponent of every measure of reform…and that he has held power by a set of the most rascally acts that ever disgraced the statutes of a free country”. Gee, as the Prime Minister and I can testify, some things never change, eh! Translation I am also pleased to see that members and senators from all political parties are here today. I have lasting friendships with members of the opposition who touched me with their compliments and the nature of their comments. English Canada's vibrant democracy is advanced by the collision of great ideas and the articulation of competing visions for our country. It may surprise some but this actually can be done effectively without the politics of personal destruction. There is room and often a need for powerful debate, dissent and disagreement anytime a government acts in an important area of public policy. As they did in my time and as they will forever, opposition parties must be vigilant and vigorous and, if need be, unrelenting in their pursuit of a noble objection. And through it all, good days and bad, opposition parties must always retain a sense of confidence and optimism as they recall the words of Lester B. Pearson who said, “Don't be downhearted in the thick of battle. It is where all good men would wish to be”. Which is why, although history remembers Prime Ministers in a special way, Canadians should never forget that it is the individual member of Parliament whose contribution is the foundation of our parliamentary system and the hallmark of our democracy. Over nine years after leaving these halls, I can tell you that the part of political life I miss most of all is my caucus. I loved them all and deeply respected their sacrifice and admired their commitment. The focus of my week began not on Monday but on Wednesday with caucus and ended early the next Wednesday morning with a group of MPs for an early breakfast at 24 Sussex just prior to the beginning of caucus again. In between, their preoccupations became my priorities. So every Wednesday I witnessed a microcosm of Canada, replete with challenges, achievements, tensions and dreams, as I watched men and women from vastly different regions and backgrounds and languages, struggling to understand each other's views while seeking to harmonize their differences into coherent national policy. Those moments exemplified for me the very essence of parliamentary democracy and the splendour of a commitment to Canada, and while they occurred in my caucus, I know they occurred in every other caucus as well. Translation It was among my colleagues from caucus that I most clearly heard the voice of Canada. Every week, men and women from across the country shared their pride and their hopes, their plans and their concerns. They did not all speak the same language, nor did they all see the future in the same way, far from it. However, in their own words and in their own way, each one of them said, “I love Canada and I want to make it a better place for those who come after me”. On many occasions, in these circumstances, I was reminded of the words of our great literary figure from the Charlevoix, Félix-Antoine Savard: “Blessed are those who live in harmony.” English It was both in this room and a few steps from here where we gathered to consider the great issues on our agenda, from free trade to the GST, from Meech Lake to the Gulf war, and many others. After remarkably candid and direct debate, often in an atmosphere of withering criticism outside, we came together in mutual friendship and loyalty and presented a singular policy and common approach to Parliament and the country. Sometimes we succeeded and sometimes we failed. I remember recalling for caucus the words of Reinhold Niebuhr: “Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing fine or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith…” So it is in the life of Canada. I will be forever grateful to all members of Parliament for their contributions. But in a special way I will be forever grateful to that group of men and women, members of Parliament, who stood with me in proud and sometimes lonely solidarity, as we defended policies we knew to be unpopular at the time but which we believed to be in the long term best interests of Canada and all her citizens. In the fullness of time, history and a more reflective nation will tell us whether our hopes for the ultimate success of these policies were realized. As I return today to Parliament Hill for the first time since my resignation as Prime Minister, I want to say simply that I feel both humble and proud to know that my likeness, such as it is, will now be a part of this magnificent building and that I will have the honour of being with so many great Canadians, all of whom loved our country dearly and served her well. To all of you, irrespective to be sure of political party, because so many durable friendships are made on the floor of the House of Commons and with people in the broader Ottawa community, to all of you who were kind enough to associate with me and my family in a supportive way over our lifetimes and particularly our time here, I want to say a special thank you. I want to thank you all for being here on what for us is a very, very special day. Thank you all. caption id="attachment_592535" align="alignleft" width="517" Former PM Brian Mulroney, sitting for his official portrait/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.