Ivan Peter Fellegi,
OCThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
(born June 22, 1935) is a Hungarian-
CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
statisticianStatisticians work with theoretical and applied statistics in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
and was the
Chief Statistician of CanadaThe Chief Statistician of Canada is a deputy of the Minister Responsible for Statistics Canada - the Minister of Industry.The Chief Statistician advises on matters pertaining to statistical programs of the department and agencies of the Government of Canada...
from 1985 to 2008.
Born in
SzegedSzeged is the fourth largest city of Hungary, the regional centre of South-Eastern Hungary and the capital of the county of Csongrád.- Name :...
,
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
, Ivan Fellegi was in his third year of studying mathematics at the Eötvös Loránd University, when the
Hungarian uprisingThe Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was a spontaneous nationwide revolt against the Stalinist government of the People's Republic of Hungary and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956....
was crushed in 1956. He arrived in
Ottawa, Ontario CanadaOttawa is the capital of Canada and a municipality within the Province of Ontario. Located in the Ottawa Valley in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, the city lies on the southern banks of the Ottawa River, a major waterway forming the local boundary between the Provinces of Ontario and...
that year and soon began working for
Statistics CanadaStatistics Canada is the Canadian federal government department commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture....
(then known as the
Dominion Bureau of StatisticsThe Dominion Bureau of Statistics was a Canadian government organization responsible for censuses.It was formed in 1918 by the Statistics Act and replaced by Statistics Canada in 1971....
), which is widely regarded as one of the best statistical agencies in the world.
He completed his studies with night courses at
Carleton UniversityCarleton University is an international, comprehensive university located in Canada's capital of Ottawa, Ontario. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines, including public affairs, journalism, film studies, engineering, high...
. In 1958 he was the first Carleton University student to receive a
Master of ScienceA master's degree is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
degree. Upon completing his doctoral studies in mathematical statistics in 1961 he became Carleton's first
Ph.D.Ph.D. or PHD may stand for:* Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group* Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip* PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* Parisada Hindu Dharma, an Indonesian organization...
graduate.
In 1961 he was appointed Director of Sampling Research and Consultation staff, and Director General of the Methodology and systems Branch in 1971. He was promoted to Assistant Chief Statistician in 1973, and became Deputy Chief Statistician in 1984. On September 1, 1985, with close to 30 years experience, Ivan Fellegi was appointed
Chief Statistician of CanadaThe Chief Statistician of Canada is a deputy of the Minister Responsible for Statistics Canada - the Minister of Industry.The Chief Statistician advises on matters pertaining to statistical programs of the department and agencies of the Government of Canada...
. He announced his retirement as Chief Statistician on February 15, 2008.
In 1992, he was made a Member of the
Order of CanadaThe Order of Canada is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the highest such order administered by the Governor General-in-Council, on behalf of the Queen of Canada. Created in 1967, to coincide with the centennial of Canadian...
and was promoted to Officer in 1998. He is an honorary member of the
International Statistical InstituteThe International Statistical Institute is a professional association of statisticians. It publishes a variety of books and journals, and holds an international conference every two years...
and an honorary Fellow of the
Royal Statistical SocietyThe Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK. It was founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London . At that time there were many provincial statistics societies throughout Britain, but most have not survived...
. He provided advice on statistical matters to his native Hungary following its transition to democracy, and in 2004 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.