David Graeme Hancock (born August 10, 1955) is a Canadian

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and was the 15th

premier of Alberta The premier of Alberta is the head of government and first minister of the Canadian province of Alberta. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the governing United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022. The premi ...

in 2014. Since 2017, he has served as a judge of the Provincial Court of Alberta. From 1997 to 2014, he was a Member of the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...

representing Edmonton-Whitemud as a Progressive Conservative until announcing his resignation from the legislature on September 12, 2014.

Early life

Hancock was born August 10, 1955, in Fort Resolution,

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...

, grew up in

Hazelton, British Columbia Hazelton is a village municipality in the Skeena Country, Skeena region of west central British Columbia, Canada. The place is on the southeast side of the Skeena River immediately north of the Bulkley River mouth, where the confluence forms a pen ...

, went to high school in Fort Vermilion, Alberta before moving to

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

in 1972. He went to the University of Alberta for his undergraduate degree in Political Science and graduated in 1975, He was a member of the

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Phi Gam and sometimes written as FIJI, is a North American social fraternity with 139 active chapters and 13 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania ...

fraternity at University of Alberta.

Political career

Premier of Alberta

Following the announcement of Alison Redford's resignation as both leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and premier, he was named interim party leader by the Progressive Conservative caucus on March 20, 2014, and, with such

confidence Confidence is the feeling of belief or trust that a person or thing is reliable. * * * Self-confidence is trust in oneself. Self-confidence involves a positive belief that one can generally accomplish what one wishes to do in the future. Sel ...

from the majority of the legislature, was appointed as

Premier of Alberta The premier of Alberta is the head of government and first minister of the Canadian province of Alberta. The current premier is Danielle Smith, leader of the governing United Conservative Party, who was sworn in on October 11, 2022. The premi ...

. Hancock was sworn in at Government House on March 23, 2014. Hancock was succeeded as Premier and PC party leader by

Jim Prentice Peter Eric James Prentice (July 20, 1956 – October 13, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 16th premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015. In the 2004 federal election he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a candida ...

on September 15, 2014. He also retired from the legislature on the same day. He is the shortest serving premier in the province's history. Hancock's official portrait as Premier was unveiled on February 13, 2017. Hancock joked at the ceremony saying that his premiership was "the best summer job that I’ve ever had", and that he expected his portrait to be "one the size of a postage stamp" based on the short length of his administration. Other politicians in attendance paid tribute to Hancock's long hours in the legislature to pass legislation, and his lengthy tenure in government holding eight cabinet portfolios.

Personal life

Hancock lives in Edmonton with his wife Janet, who was the principal at Lillian Osborne High School in Edmonton until 2018. He has three children.

Electoral record

References

External links

David Hancock Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hancock, David 1955 births Living people Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Alberta Lawyers in Alberta University of Alberta alumni People from the Northwest Territories Politicians from Edmonton Premiers of Alberta Canadian King's Counsel University of Alberta Faculty of Law alumni 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta