Long before the actual convention a vigorous leadership contest had begun. At the outset the leading candidates were believed to be Secretary of State for External Affairs Paul Martin, Minister of Transport Paul Hellyer, and Minister of Finance Mitchell Sharp. The unofficial Liberal Party tradition was to alternate between francophone and anglophone leaders, and Jean Marchand was considered a possible candidate. Martin was a highly respected veteran minister who had finished second to Pearson in the 1958 convention, and his ambitions to try again for the top job were well-known. Hellyer was a former Minister of National Defence who had unified the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force into the Canadian Forces.