Harper, who recently retired as a member of parliament, was Canada's prime minister from 2006 to 2015. He was the first prime minister to lead the modern Conservative Party of Canada since its formation, and was the longest serving Conservative prime minister since Sir John Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister.

Harper holds a Bachelor and Master's degree in economics from the University of Calgary, and was awarded an honorary doctorate of philosophy from Tel Aviv University in 2014. Harper has been awarded the Ukrainian Order of Liberty, the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service, the B'nai B'rith International Presidential Gold Medallion for Humanitarianism and was named as the World Statesman of the Year in 2012 by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation.