Baetz, Reuben C

Reuben Baetz was born in Chesley, Ontario, in 1923. He attended the University of Western Ontario, then moved on to Columbia University in New York where he obtained his MA in political science and history. He later attended the school for social work at the University of Toronto. From 1949 to 1956 Mr. Baetz worked with the Lutheran World Federation Service to Refugees in Geneva, spending the last four years as its director. In 1957 he joined the Canadian Red Cross as assistant national commissioner, and as field director for the International Red Cross. Baetz was executive director of the Ottawa-based Canadian Council on Social Development, and in 1972 was elected president of the International Council on Social Welfare. He first ran for public office in 1977 and was victorious as a Progressive Conservative member for Ottawa West. He joined the cabinet of Hon. William Davis, and during the next nine years served as Minister of Energy, Culture, and Recreation, Tourism and Recreation, and Intergovernmental Affairs. He retired from political life in 1987. In 1975 Wilfrid Laurier University bestowed on him an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. He died in Sarasota, Florida, on October 28, 1996 at the age of 73.