Stephen Lewis

Stephen Lewis was born in Ottawa, on November 11, 1937, to Sophie Lewis (née Carson) and David Lewis. His parents gave him the Hebrew name "Sholem", aYiddish derivation of the Hebrew word shalom, which means peace, because he was born on Armistice Day. Stephen Henry Lewis, became a politician, broadcaster and diplomat. He was the leader of the NDP in Ontario throughout the 1970s while his father was leader of the Federal NDP. In 1956, he entered the University of Toronto where he became a member of the Hart House debating committee, and in 1958, Lewis debated Senator and future American President, John F. Kennedy. He spent his third year of university at the University of British Columbia (UBC) before spending his final undergraduate year back at the UofT. He went to law school twice in the early 1960s, dropping out of both UofT and UBC's programs. He left his studies in the 1960s and took up a clerical position with the Socialists International, where he received an invitation to a conference in Ghana. He attended, and instead of returning to Canada, spent more than a year working, traveling, and teaching in various places in Africa. He recalled in his 2005 Massey Lectures that the relatively brief sojourn would be a key influence on his life, especially after the turn of the new millennium. He came back to Canada at the instigation of Tommy Douglas, and in 1963, at the age of 26, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Lewis was elected leader of the Ontario New Democratic Party.


In the mid-1980s, after working as a labour mediators, columnist and broadcaster, he was appointed as Canada's ambassador to the United Nations. He quit in 1988 and worked at various United Nations agencies during the 1990s. From 1995 to 1999, Lewis was Deputy Director of UNICEF. From 2001 until 2006, he worked as United Nations Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. In his role as Special Envoy, he worked to draw attention to the HIV/AIDS crisis and to convince leaders and the public that they have a responsibility to respond. He has been widely praised for his effectiveness in this role. He is currently Social Science Scholar-in-Residence at McMaster University in Hamilton. In 2003, he was awarded to the Order of Canada. In 2005 he adapted his Massey Lectures in a book titled "Race Against Time", where he describes the disjuncture between what the international community promises and their actions in responding to the pandemic in Africa. In 2007, Lewis received the World Citizenship Award, from the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. In the same year he received the Health and Human Rights Leadership Award from Doctors of the World, USA.