Hilary Weston

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Hilary M. Weston (née Frayne), CM, O.Ont (born January 12, 1942, Dublin, Ireland) was the 26th Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, serving from 1997 to 2002. During her five year tenure, Mrs. Weston focused on issues related to women, volunteerism, and young people, drawing public attention to people working with the homeless, in hospices and as mentors to at-risk youth.

Prior to her appointment as Lieutenant Governor, Mrs. Weston spent over two decades working in business and in the fashion industry. As Deputy Chairman of Holt Renfrew, she promoted Canadian design and merchandise. During the same time, she also served as Director of Brown Thomas & Co Ltdin Ireland, co-founded Torwest in the United States, and served as Vice-Chairman and Design Director of the Windsor Clubin Florida. In 1979, Mrs. Weston founded the Ireland Fund of Canadaand continues as honorary patron of this non-partisan, non-denominational organization that funds community projects in Ireland to promote peace. An interest in early childhood education led Mrs. Weston to serve as Founding Chair of the Mabin School in Toronto. She also co-founded and chaired the Canadian Environment Educational Foundation, and established the Winter Garden Show at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Mrs. Weston has explored her longstanding interest in homes and gardens as co-author of two best-selling books, In a Canadian Garden (1989) and At Home in Canada (1995).

Since her retirement as Lietenant Governor, Mrs. Weston has spearheaded the most successful fundraising campaign in Canadian cultural history, which raised more than $250 million for the Royal Ontario Museum. She is Patron of several organizations dealing with social issues, such as Abbeyfield House Society, the Hospice Association of Ontario, the Landmine Survivors Network, the Ontario March of Dimes and Yonge Street Mission. Mrs. Weston also devotes a significant proportion of her time, as well as her business and fashion expertise, to Selfridges, the London department store of which she is a Director.

Mrs. Weston served as the first Chancellor of the Order of Ontarioand received the honour in 2001. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Canadain 2003. She was invested as Dame of Justice in the Venerable Order of St. John in 1997 and received The Queen's 2002 Golden Jubilee Medal.

Nine post-secondary institutions have recognized Mrs. Weston with honorary degrees, including the University of Western Ontario where she served as Visitor, University of St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, Massey College where she was elected as a Senior Fellow in 2002, and Trinity College, Dublin.

Awards received by Mrs Weston include the Distinguished Canadian Leadership Award (2003), the Human Relations Award of the Canadian Council of Christians & Jews (2003), Maclean's Honour Roll (Canada Day 2004), and the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service (2005)

The former Irish model married Galen Weston in 1966. They moved to Toronto in 1974 and Mrs. Weston became a Canadian citizen. They have two married children, Alannah and Galen, and one granddaughter.