Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC (Can), (January 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first Prime Minister of Canada and was a very important person in Canadian Confederation, which happened on July 1, 1867. Macdonald was in office from 1867 to 1873 and again from 1878 to 1891, making him the second longest-serving Prime Minister of Canada and the only one to win six majority governments.