Pierre de Bané

Descent: Palestinian

Profession: Canadian senator

Pierre De Bané was a Canadian senator and the first Palestinian and Middle Eastern–descended person elected to the House of Commons of Canada. Born in Haifa, Palestine, he moved to Quebec in 1947. Elected as an MP in 1968, he served for 16 years, holding various Cabinet roles under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, including Minister of Supply and Services and Minister of Fisheries and Oceans. Appointed to the Senate in 1984, he was active on committees for fisheries, foreign affairs, and legal affairs. He retired in 2013 and passed away in 2019 at age 80.