Rey D. Pagtakhan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rey D. Pagtakhan, (born January 7, 1935) is a
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
physician, professor and politician. He was a cabinet minister in the governments of Jean Chrétien and
Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...
, and served as a
Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
from 1988 until his defeat in the 2004 election.


Education

Born at the Mary Johnston Hospital in Manila and raised in Bacoor, Cavite in the Philippines, Pagtakhan received his Doctor of Medicine from the
University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 20 ...
. He is a brother of the Mu Sigma Phi, the first, the largest, and the most acclaimed medical fraternity in Asia. He completed his pediatric residency and cardiology fellowship at the
Washington University Medical Center The Washington University Medical Center (WUMC), located in St. Louis, Missouri, is a large scale health-care focused commercial development located in St. Louis' Central West End neighborhood. The Washington University Medical Center Redevelopme ...
/ St. Louis Children's Hospital and his Master of Science from the
University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Winnipeg Children's Hospital between 1971 and 1988. In addition to the above responsibilities, Pagtakhan also served as Director of the Manitoba Cystic Fibrosis Centre, President of the Manitoba Pediatric Society, member of the Winnipeg Police Commission, the first chair of the Board of Presidents of the Canadian Ethnocultural Council, and as National President of the United Council of Filipino Canadian Associations in Canada. In 1986, he was elected as a Winnipeg school trustee in the St. Vital district and served in that capacity until 1988.


Political career

Pagtakhan was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1988 federal election in the riding of
Winnipeg North Winnipeg North (french: Winnipeg-Nord) is a federal electoral district in Canada that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1917. It covers the northern portion of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Geography The riding includes the ne ...
, defeating incumbent
New Democrat New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as cultural ...
David Orlikow who had held the riding since 1962. He became the first Filipino-born Canadian to be elected to the House of Commons. He was easily re-elected in the 1993 election, defeating New Democratic challenger
Judy Wasylycia-Leis Klazina Judith Wasylycia-Leis (; born 1951) is a Canadian politician. She was a Manitoba cabinet minister in the government of Howard Pawley from 1986 to 1988, and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from September 22, 1997, to April ...
. In the elections of
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
and
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
, he was elected for the redistributed riding of Winnipeg North-St. Paul. Pagtakhan served as parliamentary secretary to
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Jean Chrétien from February 23, 1996, to July 15, 1998. He was appointed to cabinet on January 9, 2001, and served as Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) until January 15, 2002. His appointment to cabinet marked the first time in over 75 years that an M.P. from north Winnipeg became a member of the federal cabinet. As Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific), Pagtakhan took on a number of tasks including representing Canada as Head of its delegation to the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. On January 15, 2002, he was promoted to Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister responsible for Manitoba. In this capacity, he served on the Cabinet Committees on Economic Union, Social Union and Government Communications. During his tenure as Minister responsible for Manitoba (also known as the Senior Minister for Manitoba), Pagtakhan was part of the government that funded major projects in Manitoba such as the expansion of the
Red River Floodway The Red River Floodway (french: Canal de dérivation de la rivière Rouge) is an artificial flood control waterway in Western Canada. It is a long channel which, during flood periods, takes part of the Red River's flow around the city of Winn ...
and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Pagtakhan also served as Secretary of State (Science, Research and Development) from May 26, 2002, to December 12, 2003. On December 12, 2003, new
prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...
appointed him as Minister of Western Economic Diversification. In this capacity he served on the Cabinet Committees on Domestic Affairs and Aboriginal Affairs. During his tenure in this position, Pagtakhan, amongst other things, announced funding for the Winnipeg-based International Centre for Infectious Diseases. Further redistribution pushed Pagtakhan back into the riding of
Winnipeg North Winnipeg North (french: Winnipeg-Nord) is a federal electoral district in Canada that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1917. It covers the northern portion of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Geography The riding includes the ne ...
for the election of 2004. He lost to
Judy Wasylycia-Leis Klazina Judith Wasylycia-Leis (; born 1951) is a Canadian politician. She was a Manitoba cabinet minister in the government of Howard Pawley from 1986 to 1988, and was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from September 22, 1997, to April ...
, who had been elected for Winnipeg North Centre in 1997 and 2000.


Life after politics

Since returning to private life in 2004, Pagtakhan has been actively involved in numerous ventures. In 2005 and 2006, he served as the Founding Director of th
Global College at the University of Winnipeg
and Chair of the college's advisory board. He is currently co-chair of its Global Advisors. In addition, Pagtakhan serves as a Public Adjudicator of the Prairie Regional Panel of th

Governor of th

and Chair of the Manitoba Liberal Party's Election Readiness Committee. In 2017, he was made a Member of the Order of Manitoba.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pagtakhan, Rey Living people 1935 births Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Members of the 27th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Liberal Party of Canada MPs Filipino emigrants to Canada Filipino expatriates in Canada Members of the Order of Manitoba University of the Philippines alumni University of Manitoba alumni University of Manitoba faculty People from Bacoor People from Manila Politicians from Winnipeg Naturalized citizens of Canada Canadian politicians of Filipino descent