George Eulas Foster

Sir George Eulas Foster, GCMG, (Canadian) PC, (Imperial) PC (September 3, 1847 – December 30, 1931) was a Canadian politician and academic. He coined the phrase "splendid isolation" to praise British foreign policy in the late 19th century.

Foster was a Member of Parliament (MP) and a Senator in the Canadian Parliament for a total of 45 years, 5 months and 24 days. He enjoys the unique distinction of having served in the cabinets of seven Canadian Prime Ministers: Macdonald, Abbott, Thompson, Bowell, Tupper, Borden and Meighen.

Aside from his severe and lugubrious personality, two factors thwarted whatever ambitions he may have had to become Prime Minister himself: his legally questionable marriage in Chicago to his newly divorced former landlady, and his later involvement in a trust company scandal.

Background

Born in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Foster received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1868. He taught in various high schools and seminaries until 1870 when he was appointed Professor of Classics and Ancient Literature in the University of New Brunswick. He shortly afterwards studied in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Heidelberg, Germany, resuming his professorship in 1873. He resigned in 1879 and became a noted temperance lecturer.