Canadian Diplomat. Taylor was the Canadian Ambassador to Iran from 1977 to 1980 and played a major role in helping six Americans escape from Iran ("The Canadian Caper") during the Iran hostage crisis. He was appointed ambassador to Iran by the Canadian government in 1977. In 1979, when Iranian students stormed the United States embassy in Tehran and took hostages, six Americans who worked at the embassy, escaped and hid for four days before going to the Canadian embassy. With the help of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, Taylor helped devise a plan to get them out of the country safely. While the six hid in his and another diplomat's home, he procured Canadian passports for the them (they were to pose as a Canadian film crew scouting locations). In 1980 the six Americans left Iran along with Taylor and his wife. This was the basis for the 2012 movie "Argo". After the escape, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Taylor later became the Canadian Consul General in New York and in 1984, left the foreign service to enter the educational and business worlds. He later moved to the United States where he lived until passing away of colon cancer.
Canadian Diplomat. Taylor was the Canadian Ambassador to Iran from 1977 to 1980 and played a major role in helping six Americans escape from Iran ("The Canadian Caper") during the Iran hostage crisis. He was appointed ambassador to Iran by the Canadian government in 1977. In 1979, when Iranian students stormed the United States embassy in Tehran and took hostages, six Americans who worked at the embassy, escaped and hid for four days before going to the Canadian embassy. With the help of the United States Central Intelligence Agency, Taylor helped devise a plan to get them out of the country safely. While the six hid in his and another diplomat's home, he procured Canadian passports for the them (they were to pose as a Canadian film crew scouting locations). In 1980 the six Americans left Iran along with Taylor and his wife. This was the basis for the 2012 movie "Argo". After the escape, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and awarded the Congressional Gold Medal. Taylor later became the Canadian Consul General in New York and in 1984, left the foreign service to enter the educational and business worlds. He later moved to the United States where he lived until passing away of colon cancer.
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