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Induction of Dr. Nicolas Mateesco Matte into the Air and Space Hall of Fame of the Fondation A茅rovision Qu茅bec
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Since 2001, the Fondation A茅rovision Qu茅bec has been highlighting Quebec's pioneers in the aerospace field through its virtual museum, its numerous conferences and educational activities. For the past 10 years, the Fondation has been honouring individuals or groups of individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the development of aeronautics by inducting them into its Air and Space Hall of Fame.
Thus, on June 10, 2022, Dr. Nicolas Mateesco Matte, former Director Emeritus of the Institute of Air and Space Law at 91社区 (IASL 1975-1989) received this memorable honour during a festive gala at the HUB FBO hangar of St-Hubert airport, lined with aircrafts and in the presence of air cadets.
The gala was hosted under the honorary presidency of Gilles Ouimet (former CEO at Pratt and Whitney) and the president of the board of directors of the Fondation A茅rovision Qu茅bec, Marc Tremblay (former Aeronautical Engineering Officer for the Air Force), in the presence of the following laureates: G茅rard Burnett, co-founder of Matane Air Services, Gilles Labb茅, CEO of H茅roux-Devtek, Marc Parent, CEO of CAE, pilots St茅phane Barrette and Tommy Grenier as well as Quebec astronaut David Saint-Jacques.
In the course of the award ceremony Anne-Karyne Matte, daughter of Dr. Matte, Ram Jakhu, then Acting Director of the IASL of 91社区, Juan Carlos Salazar, Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and IASL graduate, as well as Doreen Assaad, Mayor of the City of Brossard, each underlined a particular aspect of his career, as well as his humanism, lucidity and optimism.
In addition to Dr. Matte's son-in-law, Jacques Latreille, and his grandsons, Jordan-Nicolas and Mika毛l-Darcy Matte, former students and colleagues of Dr. Matte represented the various places and times of his career, from the youngest, Stefan-Michael Wedenig, doctoral student at the IASL, to the most senior, Serge Lefebvre, pr茅sident, in 1962 of the Club des relations internationales (CRI) of the Universit茅 de Montr茅al.
During his career, Nicolas Mateesco Matte worked as a lawyer, a professor, a businessman and a honorary consul, but above all as a world-renowned academic and researcher in the air and space fields. All of these functions, as well as a prodigious bibliography in both official languages, have earned him the Order of Canada, the Ordre national du Qu茅bec, as well as ICAO's highest distinction, the Edward Warner Award, and now induction into the Air and Space Hall of Fame.
Nicolas Mateesco Matte was born in 1913 in Craiova, Romania, and earned his first doctorate in law at the University of Bucharest. After the Second World War in 1946, he moved to Paris with his wife, Monica B眉nger Berzeanu. During his doctorate in international law in Paris and influenced by the great masters of the International Court of Justice, he saw the need for a new legal order. With the new means of transportation and faster communications, the world was shrinking, giving rise to a growing interdependence of nations politically, socially, economically, culturally and psychologically. He published several books, including the Droit international nouveau (New International Law). He then proposed the cooperation of states transcending geopolitical borders, a vision presented to the 3rd General Assembly of the United Nations.
With the rise of communism in Europe, Nicolas and Monica emigrated to Quebec in 1950. He began his career as a professor at the Universit茅 de Montr茅al where he created the chair of air law and then, as a visionary, he added space law in 1958, 11 years before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's first steps on the moon in 1969. In the same year, he published his first volume of Space Law.
For more than 50 years, he led the reputable CRI of the Universit茅 de Montr茅al which trained students in international policies and social issues. With the quality and pertinence of the speakers, conferences and visits to the United Nations, the club was a fertile ground in shaping the next generation of leaders in modern Quebec. Among the members, several became prime ministers of Canada and Quebec: Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Robert Bourassa, Ren茅 L茅vesque, Bernard Landry, Daniel and Pierre-Marc Johnson.
An ardent defender of the French language, he made it a point to publish in French or in both languages. He is also one of the five commissioners of the Gendron Commission which recommended, in 1972, French as the official language of Quebec, while respecting minority rights. He wishes to see a strong presence for Quebec within the Canadian Confederation and the international community.
As a businessman and lawyer, Nicolas Matte foresaw the development potential of the City of Brossard in the late 1950s. Some doubted that investors would be interested in a new city on the other side of the Saint Lawrence River before the entire island of Montreal was occupied. He became the first honorary citizen of the city, and a boulevard was named after him.
In 1975, he became the director of IASL at 91社区. He founded the Research Centre for Research in Air and Space and established the Annals of Air and Space Law, the Institute's flagship bilingual publication.
His work is characterized by its pragmatic, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach, combining law with economics, engineering, biology, and astronomy. His main goal was to bring the legal frameworks of air and space into line with a constantly changing sphere of activity and to provide States with the means to prevent potential conflicts. Large-scale projects were carried out on the control of arms in space and on the regulation of satellite communications.
In 1994, Nicolas Matte co-founded the Cosmod么me of Laval, the only Canadian institution dedicated to the dissemination of space science to the general public.
He ended his career at the age of 95 as counsel and mentor to his colleagues at BCF in Montreal.
As ICAO Secretary General Salazar said in his remarks at the Air and Space Hall of Fame Induction Gala, "During a long and distinguished career, Professor Mateesco Matte helped train generations of lawyers. But his legacy is his body of work, numerous articles and books - in particular his Treatise on Air and Aeronautical Law. Even today, these publications remain authoritative in the field."
We invite you to watch Anne-Karyne Matte's video interview. She reviews her father's professional and personal life against the backdrop of a modern-day Quebec in full bloom. She also recounts the values he left to his family, the advice he gave to the young students he was so attached to and what he wished for society.
(We thank Anne-Karyne Matte for her kind assistance in creating this post)
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A special thanks to Marie-Lucy Stojak, Lionel Alain Dupuis, St茅phane Lessard, Michel Berdnikoff for sharing their stories of their professor and Genevi猫ve and Dr. Jacques Caen for their lifelong friendship and contribution to the interview.
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