Ralph Klein (politician)

Ralph Klein (2005)

Ralph Phillip Klein ( AOE * 1. November 1942 in Calgary , Alberta ; † 29. March 2013 in Edmonton , Alberta) was a Canadian politician and prime minister , radio - and television presenter , journalist and business consultant .

After having worked as a journalist for over a decade, he was elected mayor of his hometown in 1980 and held this office until 1989. After three years as Minister of the Environment of Alberta , he was Prime Minister of that province from December 14, 1992 to December 14, 2006 and chairman of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta . Due to his open and direct manner, he was popular with the population, but it also caused repeated controversy.

Life

Klein's ancestors come from Remlingen in Lower Franconia . After high school, interrupted by a year of service in the Royal Canadian Air Force , he worked from 1963 as a PR consultant for the Alberta section of the Red Cross and for the United Way of Canada charity . From 1969 he was chief reporter and presenter of the news programs of the radio and television station CFCN, a local broadcaster of the CTV network.

Urban and provincial politics

Eleven years later, Klein ran for Calgary mayor . Although he was considered an outsider, he surprisingly won the mayoral election on October 15, 1980. He took office twelve days later. While the rest of the country suffered a recession, Alberta experienced an economic boom fueled by oil discoveries. His most important achievements as mayor are the construction of the C-Train urban railway and the hosting of the 1988 Winter Olympics .

Klein joined the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and ran in the Calgary Elbow constituency in March 1989 for a seat on the Alberta Legislative Assembly . He was elected and resigned as mayor on March 21, 1989, the day after the elections. Four weeks later, Prime Minister Don Getty named him Environment Minister.

prime minister

Getty announced his early resignation at the end of 1992, as he feared a defeat in the next elections due to the high deficit. Klein was elected the new party chairman on December 5, 1992 and appointed Prime Minister on December 14 by Lieutenant Governor Gordon Towers . He managed to distance himself from the politics of his predecessor. In the elections in June 1993, the progressive conservatives were again the strongest party, albeit with a significantly reduced majority.

Klein promised to balance the state budget by 1997. This should be achieved through massive cost savings, the downsizing of the state administration and the privatization of individual state enterprises. On the other hand, the expansion of state-regulated gambling should generate additional income. The project succeeded. After four years, the province was back in the black and Klein's party won more than half of the votes in the March 1997 elections.

Higher revenues from oil and gas production fees led to large budget surpluses that could reduce national debt. The provincial government completely deregulated the electricity supply and lowered taxes. However, Klein was also accused of being insensitive to social and ecological issues, unlike his two predecessors. He firmly rejected the Kyoto Protocol because he did not want to endanger the booming oil and gas industry. In March 2001, however, the government was confirmed with a renewed absolute majority of the votes.

Ralph Klein at the 2005 Calgary Stampede Parade

After 2001, however, Klein's government faced increasing difficulties. A temporary drop in the price of crude oil and natural gas and shortfalls in revenue due to a new tax system led to a short-term revenue crisis, so that unpopular new taxes had to be levied in 2002. From 2003 to 2005 Alberta was affected by the animal disease BSE , which had a significant negative impact on cattle farms. For example, the United States , the largest export market for Canadian cattle, temporarily closed its borders for live cattle and meat products.

In the elections in November 2004, the progressive conservatives again fell below 50% of the vote, as many of their voters no longer agreed with Klein's leadership style, which sometimes appeared authoritarian, and stayed away from the ballot box. When Klein received the approval of just over half of the delegates at the party conference in March 2006, he announced that he would soon resign. On December 14, 2006, exactly 14 years to the day after taking office, he handed over the office to his successor Ed Stelmach . A month later, he also resigned his seat as a member of parliament.

further activities

In January 2007, the major law firm Borden Ladner Gervais announced that it had hired Klein, who is not a lawyer, as an advisor on business issues. His job is to "provide valuable insights into the needs of customers who want to invest in Alberta, Canada and North America."

Ralph Klein has received many awards over the years. In 1988 he received the Olympic medal and in 1996 was made an honorary chief by the Kainai tribe . The French government accepted him in March 2008 in the Order of the Legion of Honor ; this honor had to be approved by the Canadian government beforehand.

Character and controversy

Ralph Klein's nickname is “King Ralph” for a number of reasons: his management style was sometimes perceived as authoritarian, his reign was longer than average at 14 and the film of the same name was released a year before his first election as Prime Minister . Klein is considered a politician who is very popular with voters because of his openness, directness and humor. In 2006 he was voted “Alberta's funniest personality in the last 100 years” by a large margin. However, it is precisely these character traits that often sparked controversy.

During his tenure as Mayor of Calgary, many unskilled workers moved to the city because of the economic boom. Klein gained national notoriety when he complained on television about the "drifters and crawlers" from the eastern provinces burdening city welfare and police. In 1990 he again attracted attention across Canada when he showed the finger of an environmental activist who protested against the construction of a controversial wood processing plant in front of the cameras . He described his hometown Calgary as follows: “A beautiful city with too many socialists and mosquitoes. At least there is a spray against the mosquitoes. "(" A fine city with too many socialists and mosquitoes. At least you can spray the mosquitoes. ")

Half a year before his resignation as prime minister, he “warned” his potential, at that time not yet certain, successor in an interview: “You get a lot of free meals, but over time it kind of tires you, especially if you have given up drinking and then is it's no longer funny at all. So I don't know why anyone would want to do this to themselves. " know why they would want to do it. ")

During a charity event in November 2006, Klein made an obscene remark at the expense of former Conservative MP Belinda Stronach that caused a stir in the Canadian media: “I wasn't particularly surprised that she converted to the Liberals. I don't think she ever had a conservative bone in her body. Well, maybe a […] Well, speaking of Peter MacKay… "(" I wasn't surprised that she crossed over to the Liberals. I don't think she ever did have a Conservative bone in her body. Well, maybe one […] Well, speaking of Peter MacKay… ”) He was referring to her former life partner, then Foreign Minister and later Defense Minister Peter MacKay .

Web links

Commons : Ralph Klein  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Ralph Klein ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
• Biography on the Alberta Legislative Assembly website
• The loose tongue of Ralph Klein (collection of quotes)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Former Alberta premier Ralph Klein dies at age 70
2. ↑ Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Hires Ralph Klein - marketwire.com, January 18, 2007
3. ↑ Ralph Klein's profile at Borden Ladner Gervais ( Memento from June 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
4. ↑ 'For God's sake, speak English': Ralph Klein, chevalier - cbcnews, March 27, 2008
5. ↑ Ralph Klein named Alberta's funniest person - CTV News , Feb.4, 2006
6. ↑ Ralph Klein's Bums and Creeps - CBC Archive
7. ↑ Klein's Stronach quip a hit in cyberspace ( memento of the original from March 24, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. - canada.com, November 12, 2006