Alison Redford

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alison Redford (2012)

Alison Merrilla Redford , QC (born March 7, 1965 in Kitimat , British Columbia ) is a Canadian politician and lawyer . From October 7, 2011 to April 23, 2014, she was the 14th Prime Minister of the Province of Alberta and the first woman to hold this post. She was also the chair of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta . From March 2008 to August 2014, she represented the Calgary- Elbow constituency in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta , and was Minister of Justice in the cabinet of her predecessor Ed Stelmach .

biography

Study and job

Redford spent her childhood in Nova Scotia and Borneo , and when she was twelve she came to Calgary with her family . In 1988 she graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a law degree and worked as an advisor to then Secretary of State Joe Clark . She opened her own law firm in Calgary. From the 1990s onwards, Redford held various positions for the Federal Government of Canada, the European Union , the Government of Australia and the Secretariat of the Commonwealth of Nations , mainly as a consultant for constitutional and judicial reforms in various African countries . Her areas of work included the enforcement of human rights, problems of gender equality and the development of educational programs.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan named Redford one of four international election commissioners for the 2005 general election in Afghanistan . Other consultancy activities lead her to Bosnia and Herzegovina , Serbia , Namibia , Uganda , Zimbabwe , Mozambique and the Philippines, among others . Before beginning her political career, she led an education and judicial reform project in Vietnam .

Political career

Before the 2004 general election , Redford sought to be nominated as a candidate for the Conservative Party of Canada in the Calgary West constituency , but could not win. Four years later, on March 3, 2008, she ran for election to the Alberta Legislative Assembly and was elected in the Calgary-Elbow constituency. Prime Minister Ed Stelmach then accepted her into his cabinet, he appointed her Minister of Justice and Attorney General .

In January 2011, Stelmach announced his early resignation. A month later, Redford announced that she would run for the vacant party chairmanship of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta . As prescribed in the party statutes, she then resigned from her ministerial post. In the first round of elections on September 18, 2011, Redford came in second behind the favorite Gary Mar. In the decision on October 2, she prevailed with 51% of the vote. On October 7, she was sworn in as Alberta's new Prime Minister.

During Stelmach's tenure, the progressive conservatives had already faced strong competition from the right-wing populist Wildrose Party , which caught up with the ruling party in opinion polls. On March 26, 2012, the lieutenant governor ended the current legislative period and scheduled a new election for April 23. Support for the Wildrose Party, led by Danielle Smith , skyrocketed, and throughout the campaign it appeared that the 41-year progressive conservative reign was coming to an end. But contrary to all predictions, Redford was able to lead her party to victory, which won 61 of the 87 seats. Observers attributed this to "strategic voting" by left and liberals who voted for the progressive conservatives to prevent Wildrose from winning the election. In addition, the party under Redford has moved closer to the political center.

Prime minister

In December 2013, Redford turned against the influential Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), the union of civil servants. With a bill, the government proposed increasing penalties for illegal strikes, and the AUPE should be unilaterally deprived of its right to arbitration. The AUPE filed a lawsuit against the government and was able to obtain an indefinite injunction in court two months later. The court found it proven that the new law could irreparably damage labor relations, make collective bargaining impossible and effectively render the AUPE incapable of action.

Also in December 2013, Redford was present at the memorial services for Nelson Mandela , as she had once worked with him. The fact that her trip to South Africa cost $ 45,000 , of which $ 10,000 was for a charter flight , caused negative headlines . It later became public that she had flown on vacation on government aircraft; Her twelve-year-old daughter and her friend had also traveled this way. For several weeks, Redford refused to reimburse the cost of the trip to South Africa, until in mid-March she had no other choice due to public pressure. The high salaries of their staff, which are even higher than those in the office of the Canadian Prime Minister, have also been criticized.

Because of the controversy, Redford's approval ratings in opinion polls fell to 18%, lower than any other prime minister before. These devastating polls resolved on the weekend of 15./16. March out an internal party revolt. The backbencher Len Webber resigned from the faction and accused Redford of bullying . Ten other MPs were also considering leaving, and Vice Energy Secretary Donna Kennedy-Glans followed Webber's lead on March 17. Faced with the loss of support within the group, Redford announced her resignation on March 19, which came four days later. Education Minister Dave Hancock was appointed as interim successor . On August 6, Redford also gave up her parliamentary mandate.

Web links

Commons : Alison Redford  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Profiles: Alison Redford, Alberta premier. CBC News, October 3, 2011, accessed April 27, 2012 .
  2. ↑ a b c Biographical information. (PDF; 247 kB) Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, accessed on April 27, 2012 (English).
  3. ^ Alberta election: Alison Redford, Progressive Conservative leader. Toronto Star, April 21, 2012, accessed April 27, 2012 .
  4. ^ Justice minister Redford joins PC leadership race. CBC News, February 16, 2011, accessed April 27, 2012 .
  5. ^ Redford wins leadership race. (No longer available online.) Edmonton Sun, October 7, 2011, archived from the original on October 12, 2011 ; accessed on April 27, 2012 (English).
  6. ↑ Wild rose poised for majority in Alberta. (No longer available online.) The Globe and Mail, April 4, 2012, archived from the original September 7, 2013 ; accessed on April 27, 2012 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / m.theglobeandmail.com
  7. ^ Albertans elect Tory majority government. CBC News, April 24, 2012, accessed April 27, 2012 .
  8. ↑ http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/danielle-smith-puts-a-brave-face-on-wildrose-loss-in-alberta-election/article2411971/?service=mobile (link not available)
  9. ↑ AUPE launches legal fight against Bill 46. (Not available online.) Edmonton Journal, December 12, 2013, filed by the original on December 20, 2013 ; accessed on March 27, 2014 (English).
  10. ↑ Redford says she won't back down on labor law allowing mandatory settlements. Calgary Herald, February 2, 2014, accessed March 27, 2014 .
  11. ↑ Redford calls $ 45K Mandela memorial travel costs disappointing. CBC News, February 5, 2014, accessed March 27, 2014 .
  12. ↑ a b Alberta’s new premier will be Dave Hancock as PCs clean house after Alison Redford's resignation. National Post, March 20, 2014, accessed March 27, 2014 .
  13. ^ Alison Redford resigns as premier of Alberta. CTV News, March 19, 2014, accessed March 27, 2014 .
  14. ^ Severance deals for Redford's ousted senior staffers draw fire. (No longer available online.) Calgary Herald, March 21, 2014, archived from the original March 24, 2014 ; accessed on March 27, 2014 (English).
  15. ↑ Seven stumbles and a funeral: Why Alberta's Premier Alison Redford had to quit. The Globe and Mail, March 20, 2014, accessed March 27, 2014 .
  16. ^ Alison Redford resigns as Alberta premier. Toronto Star, March 19, 2014, accessed March 27, 2014 .
personal data
SURNAME Redford, Alison
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Redford, Alison Merrilla (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician
DATE OF BIRTH March 7, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH Kitimat