George Hees
George Harris Hees PC OC (born June 17, 1910 in Toronto , Ontario ; † June 11, 1996 ) was a Canadian politician of the Progressive Conservative Party (PC) who was a member of the House of Commons for almost 36 years . Between 1957 and 1960 he was first Minister of Transport and then Minister for Trade and Industry from 1960 to 1963 in the 18th Canadian Cabinet of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker and later between 1984 and 1988 Minister for Veterans Affairs in the 24th Canadian Cabinet of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney . Hees was a professional Canadian football player with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football Council in the late 1930s and won the Gray Cup with the team in 1938 .
Life
Canadian football player and MP
Hees, who came from an entrepreneurial family, was a professional Canadian football player with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football Council in the late 1930s and won the Gray Cup with the team in 1938. In 1939 he joined the Canadian Army and took part as a brigade major of the 5th Infantry Regiment until 1945 in various combat missions during World War II . He then worked as an entrepreneur, industrialist and manufacturer.
In the election of November 11, 1945 , Hees ran in the constituency of Spadina for the progressive-conservative party unsuccessfully for a mandate in the lower house for the first time and was elected as a member of the lower house in a by-election on May 15, 1950, in which he was the constituency of Broadview represented until April 7, 1963.
During this time he was George Nowlan's successor from March 15, 1954 to January 15, 1956 President of the Progressive Conservative Party and as such was responsible for the management and internal organization of the party.
Federal Minister in the Diefenbaker cabinet and Munsinger affair
On June 21, 1957, Hees was appointed by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker to the 18th Canadian Cabinet, where he was first Minister of Transport and then from October 11, 1960 to February 8, 1963 Minister of Trade and Industry.
In 1963 he was involved in the so-called Munsinger affair , Canada's first political sex scandal. Gerda Munsinger , an alleged prostitute from Germany, had love affairs with him and with Defense Minister Pierre Sévigny between 1958 and 1961 . Sévigny even signed her application for naturalization. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police checked Munsinger's origins and found that she had lived in the Soviet zone of occupation for some time after World War II and thus posed a security risk. The matter was settled behind closed doors: Justice Minister Davie Fulton had them deported to Germany and Hees and Sévigny resigned on February 8, 1963.
Re-election as member of the House of Commons and Federal Minister in the Mulroney cabinet
After the Munsinger affair, Hees decided not to run in the general election on April 8, 1963 . In the subsequent election on November 8, 1965 Hees, however, was for the PC in the constituency Northumberland re-elected as deputies in the lower house and represented by the election of 25 June 1968 the constituency of Prince Edward-Hastings , who he succeeded since the election of May 22, 1979 until his departure from the House of Commons on November 20, 1988 again represented the constituency of Northumberland .
He then took on leading positions within his party, which had been in the opposition since the April 8, 1963 election . Initially, between 1966 and 1967, he was spokesman for the PC group for trade and industry. After the resignation of John Diefenbaker as party chairman, Hees applied for his successor at the party congress on September 9, 1967, but was defeated by Robert Stanfield , the Prime Minister of Nova Scotia . He was then from September 1968 to 1969 chairman of the caucus of the Progressive Conservative Party, an assembly of members and supporters of the PC to pre-select candidates for high political offices.
After Hees was spokesman for the opposition PC faction for national defense from December 1972 to September 1974, he acted as opposition spokesman for industry, trade and commerce between September 10, 1974 and May 1976.
On September 17, 1988, Hees was appointed Minister of Veterans Affairs to the 24th Canadian Cabinet by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and held this ministerial office until September 14, 1988. At the same time, he served as Minister of State between August 27, 1987 and September 14, 1988 with the special responsibility for seniors.
Hees, who was ambassador for the food aid program of the Canadian International Development Agency CIDA / ACDI (Canadian International Development Agency / Agence canadienne de développement international) after leaving the government and the House of Commons , became Officer of the Order of Canada on April 30, 1989 for his many years of service appointed.
Publications
- Campaigning to win , Ottawa, 1952, reprinted 1957
- They gave us peace , in: Disarmament Bulletin , Summer / Autumn 1987
Web links and sources
- CV on the home page of the Canadian Parliament
Individual evidence
- ^ Canadian Ministries at rulers.org
- ^ Canadian Ministries at rulers.org
- ^ Entry on the homepage of the Order of Canada
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hees, George |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hees, George Harris |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Canadian politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 17, 1910 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Toronto , Ontario |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 11, 1996 |