Fonds F0376 - George G. Bell fonds

Brigadier-General George Gray Bell was a Vice-President at York University, Professor of Strategic Studies and decorated Second World War veteran. He was born in Toronto on May 24, 1920 and enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1940. In 1943, he graduated from the Royal Military College and served in the Netherlands and Germany in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (RCAC). Bell remained in the army after the war serving around the world in various capacities. He earned his PhD in International Relations from McGill University in 1972. In 1973, Bell became Assistant Deputy Minister to the Minister of the Treasury, Economics and Intergovernmental Affairs in the Government of Ontario. In 1976, he was appointed Executive Vice-President and Professor of Strategic Studies at York University. At York, Bell also founded and became the first President of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies (CISS). From 1984 until its dissolution in 1987, he was a founding director of the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security (CIIPS). He received the Order of Canada in 1989. After his retirement Bell was the Honourary President of the RCAC Association, and he remained a senior research fellow at York until 1996. Bell died in Toronto, Ontario on October 15, 2000.