December 23, 1969

Headline on the front page of the Ottawa Citizen reads:

PM -- 'a beautiful person'
Written by the Citizen Staff, published on Tuesday, December 23, 1969

Prime Minister Trudeau, according to the Beatles' disciple of peace John Lennon, is "a beautiful person."

Lennon emerged from a 50-minute interview with the PM today and declared that if more world leaders were like Mr. Trudeau it wouldn't be necessary to worry about peace. Lennon, accompanied by his wife Yoko Ono, called on Mr. Trudeau in his Centre Block office at 11 a.m. It was intended to be a 10 or 15 minute interview -- it lasted 50 minutes.

"Did you find him to be a beautiful person?" Lennon was asked.
"I think he is," the Beatle replied.

Lennon talked at length about the Mosport Peace Festival which he is organizing, and said he was sure it would be a beautiful happening.

"Great communication" Asked if he had communicated with the prime minister before, he said he had not, but he felt "talk, old-fashioned as it is, is still the great means of communication."

Lennon was also asked why he was going to see Health Minister Munro today. It was suggested he might be going to see Mr. Munro about "barring pot or something like that." Lennon answered: "I'm not sworn off anything, but I want to keep clear of anything that affects mental or physical ability."

Only photographers were admitted into the office.

The prime minister put his arm around Yoko for the cameramen and then John and Yoko embraced.





They arrived at the main door of the Centre Block hand-in-hand and remained that way most of the time.

Lennon said Mr. Trudeau was the first political leader he had met for such a talk. A meeting with Harold Wilson was only to pose for photographs.

"Peace to you," he said to the gathered newsmen as he headed for Mr. Munro's office at Tunney's Pasture.

The meeting was initiated about two weeks ago by a Beatles' representative. It was confirmed by telephone Sunday.

This article e-published here by permission of the Ottawa Citizen, copyright 1969.



In the words of Joni Mitchell,
"...Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone"