Douglas Abbott

Douglas Charles Abbott PC (born May 29, 1899 in Lennoxville , Québec , † March 15, 1987 ) was a Canadian lawyer and politician of the Liberal Party of Canada , the Minister in the 16th Canadian Cabinet of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and in the 17th Cabinet from Prime Minister Louis Saint-Laurent and served as Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada for almost twenty years between 1954 and 1973 .

Life

Lawyer and Member of the House of Commons

Abbott completed an undergraduate degree at Bishop's University after attending school , from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). A subsequent postgraduate study of law at McGill University he interrupted during the First World War between 1916 and 1918 because of his military service with the 7th McGill Siege Battery and the Royal Air Force . After the end of the war, he continued his studies and graduated with a Bachelor (BCL) as well as a Doctor of Civil Laws (DCL) and a Doctor of Law (LL.D.). In addition, he completed a guest study at the University of Dijon . After being admitted to the bar, he took up a position as a lawyer in the law firm Fleet, Phelan, Fleet & Le Mesurier in Montreal in 1921 .

In the election of March 26, 1940 Abbott was elected as a candidate of the Liberal Party for the first time as a member of the House of Commons and represented in this until his resignation on June 30, 1954, the constituency of St. Antoine-Westmount in Quebec .

He took over his first government office on April 1, 1943 as Parliamentary Assistant to James Lorimer Ilsley , Treasury Secretary and Treasurer of the 16th Canadian Cabinet of Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. After completing this position, he was between March 8, 1945 and April 16, 1945 Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister for National Defense, James Ralston .

Federal Minister and Judge at the Supreme Court

In the course of a cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister King appointed him Minister of the Navy on April 18, 1945. He held this office until December 11, 1946 and was also Minister for National Defense between August 21, 1945 and December 11, 1946 . Before that, he became finance minister and treasurer in the 16th cabinet on December 10, 1946, when the government was reshuffled and held this ministerial office after King's successor Louis Saint-Laurent had formed the 17th Canadian cabinet on November 15, 1948. On June 30, 1954, he resigned from his ministerial office.

The next day, on July 1, 1954, Abbott was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Canada on the proposal of Prime Minister Saint-Laurent . He held this judicial office for nearly twenty years until December 23, 1973. After completing his judicial office, he was still chairman of the advisory committee for parliamentary accommodation from April 1974 to December 1976.

Abbott was the father of Anthony Chisholm Abbott , who was Member of the House of Commons and Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs, Minister of State for Small Businesses and Minister for National Income in the 20th Canadian Cabinet of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau from 1974 to 1979 .

Web links and sources

• Douglas Abbott - biographical information on the website of the Canadian Parliament (English)
• Canadian Ministries at rulers.org
• Entry on the homepage of the Supreme Court of Canada