Bennett Campbell

William Bennett Campbell PC (born August 27, 1943 in Montague , Prince Edward Island , † September 11, 2008 ) was a Canadian politician of the Liberal Party of Canada , who was Prime Minister of Prince Edward Island and for some time a member of the lower house and federal minister. He died of cancer in September 2008.

Life

Rise to Prime Minister of Prince Edward Island

Campbell, who was a teacher by profession , was elected as a candidate for the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party on May 11, 1970 for the first time as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island and represented the 3rd Kings constituency in this until 1981 .

As early as October 10, 1972, he was appointed to the provincial government of Prince Edward Island formed by Prime Minister Alex Campbell , who was not related to him , and was Minister of Education until 1978. At the same time he was provincial secretary between May 1974 and 1976 and also acting finance minister from June 1976 to November 1978.

On November 18, 1978, Bennett Campbell succeeded Alex Campbell as chairman of the Prince Edward Island Liberal Party and as prime minister of the province and held these offices until May 3, 1979. He was also president of the executive board and treasury secretary.

Under his leadership, the Liberal Party suffered a heavy defeat in the 1979 election to the legislative assembly, losing six of the 17 seats and, as a result, an absolute majority in the 32-member legislative assembly. Campbell had on May 3, 1979, the prime minister of Angus MacLean , the top candidates of the Prince Edward Iceland Progressive Conservative Party , assigned, and then who served until 1981 as leader of the opposition ( Leader of the Opposition ).

Member of the House of Commons and Federal Minister

On April 13, 1981, he was elected as a candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in a by-election in the Cardigan constituency as a member of the Canadian House of Commons, but lost this seat in the subsequent general election on September 4, 1984 .

On September 22, 1981, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed him Minister of Veterans Affairs to Canada's 22nd Cabinet . He then held this ministerial office in the 23rd government of Canada, formed by Trudeau's successor John Turner , from June 30 to September 16, 1984.

Web links

• Entry on Parliament's homepage