William Benidickson

William Moore Benidickson PC (born April 8, 1911 in Dauphin , Manitoba ; † January 4, 1985 ) was a politician of the Liberal Party of Canada , who was a member of the Parliament of Canada as a member of the lower house and senator for almost forty years and at times a minister in the 19th Canadian Cabinet of Prime Minister Lester Pearson was.

Life

Lawyer, World War II and MP

After attending school, Benidickson first completed an undergraduate degree and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA). He then completed a law degree with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and, after being admitted to the bar, began working as a barrister . During the Second World War he did his military service in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and was most recently promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (Wing Commander) .

In the elections of June 11, 1945 Benidickson was elected as a candidate of the Liberal Party for the first time as a member of the House and represented there by his re-election at the next general election until his voluntary mandate waiver on 7 July 1965, the interests of in Ontario located constituency Kenora -Rainy River .

During his membership in the House of Commons he was from February 16 to June 30, 1950 Vice-Chairman of the Parliament's Joint Committee on Pensions. He took over his first government office on January 24, 1951 as Parliamentary Assistant to Lionel Chevrier , Minister of Transport in the 17th Canadian cabinet of Prime Minister Louis Saint-Laurent . He held this office until June 13, 1953 and was also Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts from February 28 to November 20, 1952. He was later between August 31 and September 13, 1953 again Parliamentary Assistant to Minister of Transport Chevrier and then from October 14, 1953 to April 12, 1957 Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Finance in the Cabinet of Saint-Laurent, Douglas Abbott and finally Walter Harris .

Federal Minister and Senator

On April 22, 1963, Benidickson was appointed by Prime Minister Lester Pearson to Canada's 19th Cabinet, where he was Minister for Mining and Technical Assessment until his resignation on July 7, 1965.

On July 7, 1965, he resigned as minister and also resigned his lower house mandate after he was appointed Senator on the proposal of Prime Minister Pearson and represented the Kenora-Rainy River Senate District in Ontario until his death on January 4, 1985 . During his Senate membership he was from January 18, 1966 to May 8, 1967, he was co-chair of the Joint Parliamentary Special Committee on Prisons.

At the time of his death, Benidickson had served in Canada's Parliament for nearly forty years.

Web links and sources

• William Benidickson - biographical information on the website of the Canadian Parliament (English)
• Canadian Ministries at rulers.org