Robert Burns (175996) was born into a farming family in Ayrshire, Scotland. The publication in 1786 of his first book, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect, made him famous overnight and saw him f�ted by Edinburgh society. But Burns made no money from his writing and quickly fell on hard times, returning to farming in Dumfries, and, when that failed, to work as an Excise officer. He devoted his final years to poetry and the writing of Scottish songs.
George Anderson became president of the Forum of Federations in June 2005. He was previously Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Canada, from May 2002 until May 2005. He also served as Deputy Minister (Intergovernmental Affairs) in the Privy Council Office beginning in August 1996. He beganworking in Canada's federal public service in 1972. From 1992 to 1993 he was a fellow at Harvard University's Center for International Affairs. George Anderson has a B.A. from Queen's University, an M. Litt. in Political Science from Oxford University, a diploma from the Ecole nationaled'administration in Paris, France, and is currently a trustee of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. His… previous book, Federalism: An Introduction was published by OUP in 2008.