O'Hagan, L. Richard

Lawrence Richard "Dick" O’Hagan, journalist and communications advisor, was born 23 March 1928 in Woodstock, New Brunswick. He studied at St. Mary’s University (Halifax, Nova Scotia) and Fordham University (New York), and in 1949 joined the staff of the Toronto Telegram as a reporter. He left the Telegram in 1956 to join MacLaren Advertising Co. Ltd. as an account executive in the public relations department, and became manager of the department in 1959. In 1961, O’Hagan was appointed Special Assistant to Lester B. Pearson, Leader of the Official Opposition in Canada’s House of Commons. Following the general election of April 1963, when Pearson formed the government, O’Hagan continued in his role as Special Assistant and also served as Press Secretary to the Prime Minister. He led the Information Division of the Canadian embassy in Washington, D.C. from 1966 to 1976, where he promoted cultural and academic relations with the United States. O’Hagan returned to Ottawa in 1976 as Special Advisor on Communications to Pierre Elliott Trudeau, managed the Prime Minister’s Press Office, and wrote speeches. Later that year, O’Hagan joined the Bank of Montreal as Vice-President, Public Affairs, and was appointed Senior Vice-President in 1984. Following his retirement, O’Hagan served on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) from 2002 to 2005, was the President of the public relations firm, Richard O’Hagan and Associates , and is an Honorary Governor of the Canadian Journalism Foundation.

2016/12/13 Last updated
2018/12/15 KCP. Added year of death.