Pierre Trudeau's tenure as prime minister of Canada occurred from April 20, 1968, to June 4, 1979, and from March 3, 1980, to June 30, 1984. He was sworn in as prime minister two weeks after he succeeded Prime Minister Lester Pearson as leader of the Liberal Party in the 1968 leadership election. On June 30, 1984, Trudeau resigned as prime minister, being succeeded by his former Cabinet minister, John Turner.