Cotler biography

Possessing boundless energy and a work ethic that would tire people half his age, Cotler remains active even at age He went on to study at Yale, where he was a classmate of Alan Dershowitz. Returning to Montreal, Cotler was a professor of law at McGill and served as director of its human rights program from until elected to Parliament in During that interval, Cotler was involved in numerous human rights cases, but he also had a smaller, cameo role in one of the 20th centuries more momentous moves for peace.

During those visits, he made the acquaintance of Tahseen Bashir, a confidant to Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, and Boutros Boutros-Ghali, a well-connected professor. At one point they sounded out his opinion on the prospects for peace with Israel. Cotler delivered the message and told Begin he felt the Egyptian leader was sincere in his desire to explore peace.

Cotler clothing

Although skeptical of the proposal, Begin agreed to meet with Sadat, and the rest, as they say, is history. It was also during that visit to Israel that he met his future wife, Ariela Zeevi, who at the time was the parliamentary secretary for Likud and a close confidant of Begin. While his role in the Israeli-Egyptian peace negotiations might merit only a footnote, Cotler played a significant role in numerous other developments internationally and in Canada.

As minister of justice and attorney general to , he initiated the first-ever comprehensive reform of the Supreme Court appointment process, during which he appointed Rosalie Abella and Louise Charron to the High Court.