Kenneth D. Taylor
Kenneth Douglas "Ken" Taylor, OC (born October 5, 1934 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada) was a Canadian ambassador to Iran. Taylor helped six Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis in 1979 by contacting Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark and getting him to issue the Americans Canadian passports to fool the Iranians into believing they were Canadians in a covert operation called the Canadian Caper.
Taylor completed his BA at Victoria College of the University of Toronto and his MBA at the University of California, Berkeley He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, and has since been honoured with its highest award, Significant Sigma Chi. He returned to the University of Toronto for several years as the Chancellor of Victoria College. Ken Taylor remains a Canadian citizen. He currently resides in New York.
Taylor left the foreign service in 1984 and served as Senior Vice-President of Nabisco (RJR Nabisco after 1986) from 1984 to 1989 [1] and later founded the public consulting firm Taylor and Ryan (and remains Chairman).[2]
Iran Hostage Crisis
Iranian students invaded the United States embassy on November 4, 1979 (Iran hostage crisis). During the riot six Americans managed to escape. They hid for four days before reaching the Canadian embassy where they met Taylor who devised the plan to get them out of Iran safely. The other 52 hostages were released on the last day of U.S. President Jimmy Carter's term in office, in January 1981.
After returning from Iran, Taylor was appointed Canadian Consul-General to New York City. In 1980, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and was also awarded the United States Congressional Gold Medal that same year.[3]
Taylor would play a crucial role in providing intelligence on the hostage crisis to Canadian and American intelligence agencies.[4][5] Reportedly, he helped scout out landing sites for the abortive Delta Force rescue attempt, Operation Eagle Claw.[6] Taylor did not confirm [7] that the C.I.A. organized the rescue of the diplomats who were hiding in the Canadian embassy, a statement which echoes what former U.S. President Jimmy Carter said about the operation in 1986.[8]
A made for TV movie was produced in 1981.[9] In 2012, Ben Affleck produced and starred in a movie titled Argo, which claims to be based on some of the circumstances of this incident. The movie has been widely criticized for the amount of creative freedom taken by the producers, its pro-American stance and dismissiveness of the role Ken Taylor and Canada played in the successful resolution of this crisis. More specifically, Argo is based on the book The Master of Disguise by Tony Mendez.
References
- ^ http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=2461967&ticker=GSA:CN&previousCapId=24934497&previousTitle=Center%20for%20Adoption%20Policy%20Studies
- ^ http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Taylor_Kenneth_386333.aspx
- ^ "Congressional Gold Medal Recipients". Retrieved 2006-07-30. [dead link]
- ^ "Former Canadian Ambassador Admits To Spying For CIA". Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ "Former ambassador passed information to C.I.A." Retrieved 2010-01-24. [dead link]
- ^ Marty Gervais (28 March 1981). "Iran rescue: Our bashful heroes". Windsor Star Saturday. p. C8.
- ^ http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=764385
- ^ "Report says "Canadian Caper' a CIA affair". CBC News. 1998-11-13. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
- ^ "Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper (1981)".
- ^ Mr. Taylor did not present credentials because of the Canadian government's decision to change residency and accreditation from Iran to Kuwait, with the opening of a Canadian Embassy in Kuwait
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- 1934 births
- Living people
- Canadian diplomats
- Officers of the Order of Canada
- People from Calgary
- University of Toronto alumni
- Congressional Gold Medal recipients
- Ambassadors of Canada to Iran
- Ambassadors of Canada to Bahrain
- Ambassadors of Canada to Qatar
- Ambassadors of Canada to Oman
- Ambassadors of Canada to Kuwait
- Ambassadors of Canada to the United Arab Emirates
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