During what has been dubbed the “Canadian Caper“, Taylor helped the Canadian government and the Central Intelligence Agency rescue six American diplomats after students and militants raided the U.S. Embassy on November 4, 1979. Taylor was granted legal US permanent-resident status in 1985 and lived in New York City – though he said he had no interest in becoming a USA citizen.
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“It is with sadness that I learned of the passing of Ken Taylor”. One of the U.S. Embassy employees Taylor hid, Mark Lijek, told the Globe and Mail, “one thing about Ken was that I don’t think he ever doubted what he was doing was right”.
She said Taylor, born in 1934 in Calgary, has a legacy of generosity. “It’s why that incident in Iran happened”. “There was no second thought about it. He just went ahead and did it. His legacy is that giving is what is important, not receiving”. They spent five days on the move, then took refuge at the Canadian Embassy for the next three months. He and his first secretary, John Sheardown, played a critical role in the diplomats’ eventual escape by procuring Canadian passports and forged Iranian visas, a rare win in a dismal saga that would ultimately help doom President Jimmy Carter’s bid for re-election.
He did head up Canada’s diplomatic mission in New York for a while – the job that Jean Chretien later gave to Pamela Wallin.
Tributes poured in for Taylor on Thursday.
Former Canadian Ambassador to Iran Ken Taylor, famous for his role in protecting American diplomats during the Iran hostage crisis, died at the age of 81 on Thursday.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman called Taylor “courageous”, in a statement, saying his actions “exemplify the enduring nature of the special relationship between the United States and Canada”. The former ambassador was inducted into the Order of Canada, the country’s highest honor; awarded the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal; and appointed the Canadian Consul-General to New York City after he left Iran.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was sad to learn of the news. As Canada’s Ambassador to Iran during the Iranian Revolution, Taylor valiantly risked his own life by shielding a group of American diplomats from capture. Friends of his who were present told the Toronto Star that the snub was a hidden blessing: “The movie was an insult to Taylor and Canada”.
Joe Clark, Canada’s prime minister in 1979, called Taylor a Canadian hero and a valued friend.
Although the operation would have been impossible without Taylor’s work, he and others felt that Canada’s role in the hostages’ escape was downplayed in Ben Affleck’s Argo.
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Taylor is survived by his wife, his son and two grandchildren. There are tentative plans for a funeral in Toronto on October 27.
