Brian Mulroney, Ex-Canadian PM And Father Of North American Free Trade

Former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney marked Canadian politics in the 1980s and early 1990s with the signing of a continental trade deal with the United States and Mexico, creating one of the world's largest trading blocs (Credit: AFP)

Former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, who made his political mark in the 1980s with the signing of a ground-breaking free trade agreement with the United States that later expanded to include Mexico, died Thursday. He was 84.

Mulroney, Canada's last Cold War leader, opposed apartheid in South Africa and helped secure a landmark treaty on acid rain with Washington.