Peter Lougheed

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Edgar Peter Lougheed ( PC , CC , AOE , QC ; born July 26, 1928 in Calgary , Alberta ; † September 13, 2012 ; usually called Peter Lougheed ) was a Canadian politician , lawyer and Canadian football player. He was Prime Minister of the Province of Alberta from September 10, 1971 to November 1, 1985, and Chairman of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1965 to 1985 .

Study and job

The grandson of Senator and Home Secretary James Alexander Lougheed grew up in Calgary. He received his secondary education at the local Central High School , where he co-founded the student body and became its first president. He then studied law at the University of Alberta , where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in 1950 and a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) in 1952 . He was also president of the student union. During his studies Lougheed played Canadian football for the university team Golden Bears , in the seasons 1949 and 1950 also for the Edmonton Eskimos .

In 1952 he married Jeanne E. Rogers, with whom he had four children. In 1954 he graduated from Harvard University with a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Lougheed was admitted to the bar in 1955 and worked for the law firm Fenerty, Fenerty, McGillivray, Prowse, and Brennan in Calgary. From 1956 he worked for the construction company Mannix Corporation and rose to director.

Provincial politics

Lougheed was elected chairman of the relatively insignificant Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta in 1965, which at the time was not represented in the provincial parliament, the legislative assembly of Alberta . He combined conservative economic policy with liberal social policy and gave the party an emphatically urban and modern image. This enabled the progressive conservatives to gain a foothold in the rapidly growing cities of Calgary and Edmonton within a short period of time , while the rural-based Social Credit Party of Alberta , which had ruled for over three decades, hardly reacted to the increasing importance of the cities.

In May 1967, Lougheed was elected MP for the Calgary West constituency and was opposition leader for the next four years. He was re-elected four times in a row.

prime minister

In the elections in August 1971, the progressive conservatives were able to gain more than 20 percent, became the strongest party and formed the government for the first time. On September 10, Lougheed took office as Prime Minister. His government was confirmed by an absolute majority in 1975, 1979 and 1982. It raised taxes for companies in the booming oil industry and invested the steadily increasing income in expanding infrastructure and promoting small and medium-sized companies.

In 1976, Lougheed founded the Alberta Heritage Fund , which has since used a portion of the revenues from the oil industry to make long-term investments in the province's economic development. The government also promoted the development of the rich oil sands, particularly the Athabasca tar sands . Lougheed also sought to limit the influence of the federal government and expand the autonomy of the provinces. In particular, he fought against the National Energy Program .

It was also heavily involved in the revision of Canada's Constitution , the 1982 Constitutional Act . Among other things, he pushed through a provision that allows the provinces not to have to apply new constitutional amendments for five years if their rights are threatened. Lougheed has sponsored various health charities and helped fund the Canadian Encyclopedia .

Other activities

On November 1, 1985, Lougheed resigned as Prime Minister, on February 28, 1986 he gave up his parliamentary mandate. He went into the private sector and has served on the boards of more than 15 major companies including Bechtel Canada , Canadian Pacific Limited , Royal Bank of Canada and Carlyle Group . He was also an adviser to the Government of the Northwest Territories and Honorary Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the 1988 Winter Olympics .

Awards

In 1987 Lougheed received the Order of Canada , the country's highest honor. From 1996 to 2002 he was Chancellor of Queen's University in Kingston (Ontario) . In 2001 he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame . The Peter Lougheed Provincial Park on the British Columbia border and the Peter Lougheed Center , a hospital in Calgary , are named after him . He was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Peter Lougheed, Mr. Alberta, dies at age 84. The Globe and Mail , September 13, 2012, accessed September 14, 2012 .
personal data
SURNAME Lougheed, Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lougheed, Edgar Peter (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian politician
DATE OF BIRTH July 26, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Calgary
DATE OF DEATH September 13, 2012
Place of death Calgary