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Andrew George Latta McNaughton, PC , CH , CB , CMG , DSO , CD ( February 25 , 1887 - July 11 , 1966 ) was a Canadian army officer, politician and diplomat. Born in Moosomin, Saskatchewan (at the time in the Northwest Territories ), McNaughton was a student at Bishop's College School in Lennoxville, Quebec before studying Engineering at McGill University in Montreal . He enlisted in the Militia in 1909 and went to Europe with the Canadian Expeditionary Force at the outbreak of World War I in 1914 . While there helped make advances in the science of Artillery , and was wounded twice. In 1920 he enlisted in the regular army and became Chief Of The General Staff in 1929 . In that position, he terminated Defence Scheme No. 1 . In 1935 he became president of the National Research Council Of Canada . In 1939 he led the Canadian army into World War II , but despite his scientific capabilities he was also partially responsible for the disastrous Dieppe Raid in 1942 . The British generals frequently criticized him, and his support for voluntary enlistment rather than Conscription led to conflict with James Ralston , the Minister Of National Defence . McNaughton resigned his command in 1943 . Because of his support for a volunteer army, McNaughton remained friendly with Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King , who wanted to make him the first Canadian-born Governor General Of Canada . Instead, McNaughton became Minister of National Defence when Ralston was forced to resign after the Conscription Crisis Of 1944 , as King did all he could to avoid introducing conscription. McNaughton was soon pressured into calling for conscription despite King's wishes, a popular move for some Canadians but an equally unpopular one for many others. McNaughton was unable to win a seat in Parliament and resigned in 1945 . After the war he served on the Atomic Energy Commission and as Canada's Ambassador to the United Nations , as well as many other international committees, until his death in 1966.
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