Edgar Henry Gerhart (December 18, 1923 – May 25, 1992) was a lawyer, judge and politician from

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada. He served in 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 ...

from 1952 to 1971 as a member of the Social Credit caucus in government. He served as a cabinet minister in the governments of

Ernest Manning Ernest Charles Manning (September 20, 1908 – February 19, 1996) was a Canadian politician and the eighth premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta. He served longer than any other premier in the province' ...

and Harry Strom from 1967 to 1971.

Early life

Edgar Henry Gerhart was born on December 18, 1923, in the town of

Drumheller Drumheller is a town on the Red Deer River in the badlands of east-central Alberta, Canada. It is located northeast of Calgary and south of Stettler. The Drumheller portion of the Red Deer River valley, often referred to as Dinosaur Vall ...

. His father was Clarence Gerhart served as a member of the Legislative Assembly representing Acadia-Coronation from 1940 to 1955, as well as several portfolio's in

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Ernest Manning's cabinet, including Minister of Municipal Affairs. Edgar Gerhart would marry his wife Margaret Tiffin on March 4, 1944, in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, and have five children together. Gerhart would attend the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

studying pharmacy like his father.

Political career

Gerhart first ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the 1952 general election. Running under the Social Credit banner, he took the fifth seat in the multi-member electoral district of Edmonton. He was re-elected in the 1955 Alberta general election. The Edmonton electoral district was broken up into single-member ridings in 1959, and Gerhart ran for re-election in the new district of Edmonton North West. He defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Ned Feehan and two other candidates with about 40% of the popular vote. In 1960, Gerhart ran for a seat on Edmonton city council in the

municipal election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct var ...

while still an MLA. He finished 12th out of 15 candidates, short of a place on council. In the 1963 general election, Gerhart faced Ned Feehan again as well as future MLA Grant Notley. He retained his seat by a large margin. In the 1967 general election, Gerhart defeated Progressive Conservative candidate Paul Norris by less than 500 votes. Premier Ernest Manning appointed Gerhart Minister of Municipal Affairs on June 29, 1967. He held that portfolio until July 16, 1968, when he resigned to run for the leadership of the Social Credit Party. Gerhart finished fifth out of six in the 1968 leadership election and dropped out of the race after the first ballot. The new premier, Harry Strom, appointed Gerhart Attorney General on December 10, 1968. Two days later he also reassumed the Municipal Affairs portfolio, which he held until May 27, 1969. In 1971 Edmonton North West abolished, and Gerhart ran for re-election that year in the new electoral district of

Edmonton-Calder Edmonton-Calder was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post method of voting from 1971 to 1993 and again from 1996 to 2019. His ...

. He was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate Tom Chambers.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerhart, Edgar 1923 births 1992 deaths Alberta Social Credit Party MLAs Members of the Executive Council of Alberta 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta