Richard Gwyn is one of Canada's best-known political commentators. The author of several best-selling books and the recipient of awards for both newspaper and magazine writing, his articles are syndicated nationally and he is a frequent commentator on both TV and radio.
Gwyn has been a journalist since 1957 aside from a brief foray into politics (1968-1973) as executive assistant to the Hon. Eric Kierans and subsequently as Director-General in the Department of Communications.
In 1973, Gwyn joined the Toronto Star as its Ottawa-based columnist and in 1985 was appointed the Star's International Affairs columnist based in London.
Gwyn returned to Canada in mid-1992 to write a column, Home and Away, about both international and national affairs. He comments weekly on international affairs for TVOntario's daily public affairs program, Studio Two, and is a regular contributor to CBC programs such as Sunday Report and Morningside.
He is the author of several political books including a biography of Joseph R. Smallwood, The Unlikely Revolutionary (1972) and of former PM Pierre Elliot Trudeau, The Northern Magus (1980). His most recent publication is titled Nationalism Without Walls; The Unbearable Lightness of Being Canadian (1995).
