Danny Williams (politician)

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Danny Williams

Daniel ("Danny") Williams , QC (born August 4, 1950 in St. John's , Newfoundland ) is a Canadian politician , lawyer and entrepreneur . He was Prime Minister of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador from November 6, 2003 to December 3, 2010 . He only got into politics in 2001, after he had sold a cable television network he had built and shortly thereafter was elected chairman of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador . Williams' style of government was considered extremely controversial outside the province. Disputes over a higher proportion of the province's income from offshore oil deposits led to a deep rift with the federal government and regularly made headlines across Canada.

Studies and professional life

Williams grew up in the provincial capital St. John's. He studied political science and economics at the Memorial University of Newfoundland there . Because of his outstanding achievements, he received a Rhodes Scholarship in 1969 and moved to the University of Oxford in England, where he began studying law and also played on the university's ice hockey team. He then graduated from Dalhousie University in Halifax with a Bachelor of Laws degree .

In 1972 Williams was admitted to the Newfoundland and Labrador Bar and was named Crown Attorney in 1984 . While still a student, he led a consortium of entrepreneurs that secured one of Newfoundland's first licenses for cable television . Through numerous acquisitions, Williams Cable Atlantic expanded into one of the largest communications companies in the Atlantic provinces . As a major shareholder, he sold the company to Rogers Cable for $ 280 million Canadian dollars , earning him the nickname "Danny Millions". Williams also served as president of OIS Fisher , an oil and gas company , opened three golf courses, and chaired several charities.

politics

It wasn't until 2001 that Williams turned to politics. In April of that year he successfully ran for chairmanship of the progressive conservatives who were then in the opposition. On August 2, 2001, he was at a by-election in the Electoral District Humber West in the House of Representatives of Newfoundland and Labrador voted. He donated his parliamentary salary to charity. In the election on October 21, 2003, the progressive conservatives were able to gain almost 18% and won an absolute majority of the seats.

Williams took office on November 6, 2003. It soon caused controversy. In order to reduce the budget deficit, he announced at the end of March 2004 that he would postpone various construction projects, freeze the wages of state employees and cut 4,000 jobs in the provincial administration. As a result, around 20,000 state employees went on strike for a month until Williams changed the law to force them back to work.

In December 2004, Williams received media attention across the country when he ordered the removal of all Canadian flags from government buildings in Newfoundland and Labrador. In doing so, he protested against the federal government's planned lower valuation of future income from offshore oil deposits in the compensation payments. Williams forced renegotiations with Paul Martin's federal government and negotiated a one-time advance payment of 2.6 billion dollars on the expected production fees for his province . After this successful negotiation, his previously low approval ratings rose to record levels in opinion polls. Other provincial governments criticized the special regulation, however. On October 9, 2007, Williams' government was confirmed in the provincial election. The progressive conservatives increased their share of the vote by 11% to 69%, and their candidates prevail in 44 of the 48 electoral districts.

Relations with the federal government deteriorated noticeably during his second term in office, although Stephen Harper, an ideologically close prime minister, ruled. Williams accused Harper of not wanting to keep the contract negotiated with Martin. During the election campaign before the general election in 2008 , he ran an anti-Harper campaign under the motto ABC - Anything but Conservative (" Anything but Conservative "). He called on his province's voters not to vote for the Canadian Conservative Party candidates . The ABC campaign was a success as the Conservatives in Newfoundland and Labrador failed to win a seat. In the spirit of Williams, they also missed an absolute majority of the seats across Canada.

On November 25, 2010, Williams announced that he would step down on December 3. In his place was Deputy Prime Minister Kathy Dunderdale . She will serve as executive prime minister until a new party leader is elected in 2011.

Web links

Commons : Danny Williams  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Parties and Leaders - Danny Williams. CBC News, September 4, 2007, accessed December 22, 2010 .
  2. ^ Danny Williams, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. CBC News, 2003, accessed December 22, 2010 .
  3. ↑ Nfld. budget cuts projects, 4,000 jobs. CBC News, March 30, 2004, accessed December 22, 2010 .
  4. ↑ $ 2.6B deal sends Williams soaring in poll. CBC News, March 8, 2005, accessed December 22, 2010 .
  5. ↑ Williams leads Tory landslide in NL CBC News, October 9, 2007, accessed December 23, 2010 .
  6. ↑ Williams registers anti-Harper 'ABC' campaign with Elections Canada. CBC News September 16, 2008, archived from the original January 20, 2011 ; accessed on December 23, 2010 (English).
  7. ↑ Goose egg: Conservative vote collapses in NL CBC News, October 15, 2008, accessed on December 23, 2010 .
  8. ^ Danny Williams retires as NL premier. CBC News, November 25, 2010, accessed December 22, 2010 .
personal data
SURNAME Williams, Danny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Williams, Daniel E .; Millions, Danny
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician
DATE OF BIRTH 4th August 1950
PLACE OF BIRTH St. John's (Newfoundland)