Gordon Churchill

Gordon Minto Churchill PC DSO (born November 8, 1898 in Coldwater , Ontario , † August 3, 1985 in Vancouver ) was a Canadian lawyer and politician of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada , who was a member of the House of Commons and several times a minister.

Life

Participation in the First and Second World Wars

After attending elementary school and high school in Port Arthur , United College in Winnipeg and Brandon Normal School, Churchill began studying at the University of Manitoba , which he interrupted during the First World War in order to do his military service between 1916 and 1919 Serving machine gunner in the Canadian Army . During this time he was employed as a member of the 13th Vickers Machine Gun Company and the 1st Machine Gun Battalion for the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in France .

After the war he continued his studies and graduated with a Master of Arts (MA). He then worked as a teacher and between 1928 and 1938 as headmaster of the McKenzie School in Dauphin .

During the Second World War he resumed his military service as a captain in 1939 and initially served in the armored regiment The Fort Garry Horse , before he was then deputy commander of the 12th Manitoba Dragoons from January 1942 to January 1943 . After a subsequent assignment as Vice-Commander of the Elgin Regiment , after his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in October 1944, he was the last Commander of the 1st Canadian Armored Carrier Regiment in northwestern Europe between 1944 and 1945 and then for a short time Dean of Khaki College . He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his military service .

After the war he began studying law at the University of Manitoba, which he completed with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.). After being admitted to the bar in 1950, he worked as a barrister .

At the same time he was elected on October 15, 1945 as an independent representative of the army as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and belonged to it for a legislative period until November 9, 1949.

Member of the House of Commons and Minister

In the general election of June 27, 1949 , he ran unsuccessfully for a member of the lower house in the constituency of Winnipeg South Center , but was elected for the first time as a member of the lower house in a by-election in this constituency on June 25, 1951 and belonged to it until the general election on 28 June 1968 . Most recently, after leaving the Progressive Conservative Party, he was a non-party member of the House of Commons on February 27, 1968 .

On June 21, 1957, Prime Minister John Diefenbaker , whom he had supported in his election as chairman of the Progressive Conservative Party on December 14, 1956, appointed him Minister of Trade and Industry to the 18th Canadian Cabinet and held this position until on October 10, 1960. In this capacity, he headed several trade delegations at conferences of the Commonwealth of Nations .

As part of a cabinet reshuffle, he became Minister of Veterans Affairs on October 11, 1960, before being appointed Minister of National Defense on February 12, 1963 by Diefenbaker . He held this ministerial office until the end of Diefenbaker's tenure on April 21, 1963.

In addition, from January 14, 1960 to February 5, 1963, as chairman of the faction of the progressive-conservative party, he was also the leader of the governing majority in the lower house. After the electoral defeat of his party in the 1963 general election , he again took over the office of parliamentary group chairman and was thus the leader of the opposition in the lower house.

For his services he was a lawyer in 1962 to Attorney General ( Queen's Counsel appointed) and a 1976 honorary doctorate from the University of Winnipeg excellent.

Web links

• Curriculum Vitae (Canadian Parliament homepage)
• Entry on the Manitoba Legislative Assembly homepage
• Entry in The Canadian Encyclopedia
• Entry into the Canada Veterans Hall of Valor
• Entry in Memorable Manitobans