Ed Stelmach

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Ed Stelmach (2007)

Edward ("Ed") Michael Stelmach [ ˈstɛlmæk ] (born May 11, 1951 in Lamont , Alberta ) is a Canadian politician and farmer . From December 14, 2006 to October 7, 2011 he was Prime Minister of the Province of Alberta and the first Canadian head of government of Ukrainian origin. During this time he was also party chairman of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta . He headed several ministries in the cabinet of his predecessor Ralph Klein . He was a member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly from 1993 to 2012.

Local and provincial politics

The youngest of five children grew up on the farm near Larmont, which his grandparents, who immigrated from the Ukraine, had built in 1898. He originally intended to study law at the University of Alberta , but in 1973, after a death in the family, he and his wife Marie took over the farm. In addition to his main activity as a farmer, from 1987 Stelmach was also active in local politics. He served on the Lamont County County Council and was elected county chairman in 1988. There were also various offices in local and regional commissions.

In June 1993, Stelmach ran in the Vegreville-Viking constituency for a seat in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta . He was elected straight away and took over the role of the whip of his faction . After his re-election in March 1997, Ralph Klein appointed him Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. From 1999 he was Minister for Infrastructure, from 2001 Minister for Transport.

From 2004 Stelmach represented the newly created constituency of Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville and was appointed Minister of Foreign Relations in the same year. After Ralph Klein announced his early resignation in March 2006, Stelmach ran for chairmanship of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta . Like all other candidates, he gave up his ministerial post in June 2006. In the first ballot on November 25th, he came third, but narrowly prevailed in the second ballot on December 2nd.

prime minister

On December 14, 2006, Stelmach was appointed the new Prime Minister by Lieutenant Governor Norman Kwong . Immediately after taking office, he reduced the number of ministries from 24 to 18. The opposition accused Stelmach of merely administering the province instead of governing and - contrary to his election promises - continuing the policy of his predecessor more or less unchanged. Environmental policy in particular met with criticism after the government decided in January 2008 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by just 14% by 2050. Stelmach argued that Alberta's role as the main oil supplier to all other provinces justified higher emissions. Three months earlier, the fees for the use of natural resources by energy companies had been increased by a fifth.

Stelmach announced new elections on February 4, 2008. This took place on March 3rd and resulted in another election victory for the progressive conservatives, who were able to unite more than half of the votes. However, the turnout of 41% was the lowest in Alberta's history. Alberta was also affected by the effects of the recession of the 2000s and the government had to present a budget with a spending surplus twice in a row, which led to internal tensions. Another challenge was the growing influence of the right-wing populist Wildrose Party . The progressive conservatives lost a by-election in Calgary in September 2009, and in January 2010 two MPs defected to the Wildrose Party, which caught up with the ruling party in opinion polls. Numerous observers attributed this to Stelmach's inability to present a clear vision for the province.

Tensions within the party increased when Stelmach announced that Alberta would not show an increase in revenue until 2012/13. He faced a possible split in his cabinet when Treasury Secretary Ted Morton threatened to resign. On January 25, 2011, Stelmach announced surprisingly that he would no longer run in the next elections and that he would give up the party chairmanship in the course of the year. He took until June to announce his retirement date. Alison Redford was elected as the new party leader on October 2, 2011, after which Stelmach resigned five days later as head of government. He remained a member of parliament until April 23, 2012.

Honors

Stelmach received numerous medals and honors. Including:

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stelmach sworn in as Alberta's 13th premier. CBC News, December 14, 2006, accessed April 30, 2008 .
  2. ↑ Stelmach says Albertans approve of climate plan. CBC News, January 28, 2008, accessed April 30, 2008 .
  3. ^ Alberta increases royalties charged to energy companies. CBC News, October 25, 2007, accessed April 30, 2008 .
  4. ↑ Low voter turnout in Alberta election being Questioned. CBC News, March 5, 2008, accessed April 30, 2008 .
  5. ↑ Wildrose Alliance wins Calgary-Glenmore byelection. CBC News, September 14, 2009, accessed April 25, 2012 .
  6. ↑ 2 Alberta MLAs join upstart Wildrose party. CBC News, January 4, 2010, accessed April 25, 2012 .
  7. ↑ Conservative showdown prompts Stelmach's resignation. The Globe and Mail, January 25, 2011, accessed April 25, 2012 .
  8. ^ Alison Redford sworn in as Alberta premier. The Globe and Mail, October 7, 2011, accessed April 25, 2012 .
  9. ↑ Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 1057/2008 of November 19, 2008; accessed on February 16, 2018 (Ukrainian)
personal data
SURNAME Stelmach, Ed
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stelmach, Edward Michael (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician and farmer
DATE OF BIRTH May 11, 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Lamont , Alberta