Page "Ray Hnatyshyn" Paragraph 3

Hnatyshyn, a Ukrainian Canadian, was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to Helen Hnatyshyn and her husband, John, whose political links and friendship with John Diefenbaker, the future prime minister, would provide his son with frequent exposure to high-calibre political debate.

Hnatyshyn attended Victoria Public School and Nutana Collegiate Institute, and enrolled in the Royal Canadian Air Cadets, where he was placed in the Spitfire Squadron in Saskatoon and given the designation Air Cadet # 107.

He then, after graduation from high school, went on to attend the University of Saskatchewan, earning there in 1954 a Bachelor of Arts and, two years later, a Bachelor of Law.

On January 9, 1960, Hnatyshyn married Karen Gerda Nygaard Andreasen, eventually having and raising two sons with her.