Alan Keith Peterson (born February 2, 1956) was born in

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

, Canada and lives in

Cambridge Bay Cambridge Bay ( Inuinnaqtun: ''Iqaluktuuttiaq'' Inuktitut: ᐃᖃᓗᒃᑑᑦᑎᐊᖅ; 2021 population 1,760; population centre 1,403) is a hamlet located on Victoria Island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest settl ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the '' Nunavut Act'' and the '' Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act'' ...

. He was the

ember of the Nunavut MLA An ember, also called a hot coal, is a hot lump of smouldering solid fuel, typically glowing, composed of greatly heated wood, coal, or other carbon-based material. Embers (hot coals) can exist within, remain after, or sometimes precede, a f ...

for the electoral district of

having won the seat in the

2004 Nunavut general election The 2004 Nunavut general election was held on February 16, 2004, to elect the 19 members of the 2nd Legislative Assembly of Nunavut. Premier Paul Okalik asked for the five-year-old territory's first parliament to be dissolved on January 16. The t ...

. He was re-elected in the 2008 and

2013 elections The following elections were occurred in the year 2013. Asia * 2013 Armenian local elections 26 May, 17 November, and 8 December 2013 * 2013 Armenian presidential election 18 February 2013 * 2013 Bangladeshi presidential election 22 April 2013 ...

. Between November 2008 and November 2017 he served nine years as the Finance Minister and Treasury Board Chairman while serving concurrent terms as Minister of Justice / Attorney General for almost five years; Minister of the Nunavut Workers Safety & Compensation Commission for five years; and Health Minister for two years. During his terms as the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Justice, Peterson also held responsibility for the Public Service Act (Human Resources); Nunavut Liquor Commission; Nunavut Liquor Licensing Board; RCMP; Nunavut Corrections Services; Nunavut Legal Services Board; and the Labour Standards Board. He was Nunavut's first Minister of Democratic Institutions. Peterson was also Minister Responsible for the Qulliq Energy for one year. Peterson is Canada's longest-serving finance minister. Peterson decided not to run in the 2017 election.Nunavut cabinet minister Keith Peterson says no to another term
/ref> Peterson has resided permanently in Cambridge Bay since 1973. Peterson attended F.H. Collins Secondary School in Whitehorse and graduated from Sir John Franklin High School in

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

. He holds a

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, M ...

degree from 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,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Ruth ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

. Before becoming a MLA in the

Legislative Assembly of Nunavut The Legislative Assembly of Nunavut is the legislative assembly for the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The seat of the Assembly is the Legislative Building of Nunavut in Iqaluit. Prior to the creation of Nunavut as a Canadian territory on Ap ...

Peterson was a two-term mayor of Cambridge Bay, between January 2000 and December 2003. From March 2000 until December 2003 he served as the Kitikmeot director on the Nunavut Association of Municipalities (NAM). He was subsequently elected by the Nunavut mayors as vice-president, and then president of the NAM. He was involved with municipal governments since first being elected in 1984 serving as either a councillor or as deputy mayor. During the 1980s Peterson was employed by the

Government of the Northwest Territories The Politics of Northwest Territories involves not only the governance of the Northwest Territories but also the social, economic and political issues specific to the territory. This includes matters relating to local governance and governance by ...

(GNWT) in the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, delivering government business programs and services to individuals and businesses in the Kitikmeot. In 1991, Peterson was instrumental in establishing and managing the Kitikmeot Regional Community Economic Development Organization, an

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, ...

community

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals a ...

organization (CEDO). This organization later became the Kitikmeot Economic Development Commission. The organization helps Kitikmeot Inuit and communities with business and training initiatives. In 1994 the Nunavut Inuit CEDO's created the Nunavut CEDO to represent them on pan-territorial and national CEDO issues. He played a key role in establishing the Nunavut CEDO and managed this organization until 2002. In 1991, Peterson was appointed to the Kitikmeot Corporation board of directors and served as Secretary-Treasurer and Director until 2002. The Kitikmeot Corporation is the wholly owned Inuit Birthright development corporation of the Kitikmeot Inuit Association. They invest

land claim A land claim is defined as "the pursuit of recognized territorial ownership by a group or individual". The phrase is usually only used with respect to disputed or unresolved land claims. Some types of land claims include aboriginal land claims, ...

s payments in business ventures to create economic wealth for Kitikmeot Inuit. From 1991 until 2004 Peterson provided political, social and business advice to the Kitikmeot Inuit Association. He was the KIA's lead negotiator for benefits agreements with Northwest Territories and Nunavut based mines, including Echo Bay Mines ( Lupin Mine), Tahera Diamonds ( Jericho Diamond Mine), Miramar Gold Mine (until he was elected MLA), BHP Ekati (

Ekati Diamond Mine The Ekati Diamond Mine ("Ekati") is Canada's first surface and underground diamond mine. It is located north-east of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, and about south of the Arctic Circle, near Lac de Gras. Until 2014 Ekati was a joint ven ...

), and

Diavik Diamond Mine The Diavik Diamond Mine is a diamond mine in the North Slave Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, about northeast of Yellowknife. Description Diavik Diamond Mine is an industrial complex set in a remote, subarctic landscape. It consi ...

. He was a member of the NWT Business Credit Corporation for six years from 1993 to 1999, ending when Nunavut was created. He is a past chairman of the Kitikmeot Law Centre; he was an appeals chairman for the GNWT and Union of Northern Workers; and is a former president of Local X007 for the Kitikmeot.

References

External links

*. Biography at the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Keith 1956 births Living people Members of the Executive Council of Nunavut Members of the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut Politicians from Whitehorse Mayors of places in Nunavut People from Cambridge Bay 21st-century Canadian politicians