Kenneth Patrick Krawetz (born April 15, 1951) is a Canadian former provincial politician. He was the

Saskatchewan Party The Saskatchewan Party (SP or Sask Party) is a conservative political party in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was founded in 1997 by a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservative ...

member of the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan () is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan, in the ...

for the constituency of

Canora-Pelly Canora-Pelly is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. Located in east-central Saskatchewan, this constituency is made up of one of the province's most densely populated rural areas. The economy i ...

, and was

Deputy Premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

of Saskatchewan and Deputy Leader of the

Background

Krawetz was first elected to the Saskatchewan legislature in the 1995 provincial election as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

. He became the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

in 1996 when

Jim Melenchuk James Williams Melenchuk (born June 24, 1953) is a former Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Saskatoon Northwest in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan from 1999 to 2003. He was educated at the University of R ...

was chosen Liberal Party leader as Melenchuk did not have a seat in the legislature. In 1997, Krawetz joined three other Liberal MLAs and four Progressive Conservative MLAs in leaving their respective parties in order to form the new Saskatchewan Party. Krawetz remained as Leader of the Opposition while serving as the interim leader of the Saskatchewan Party, until the election of

Elwin Hermanson Elwin Norris Hermanson (born August 22, 1952) is a former Canadian politician from Swift Current, Saskatchewan. He served as a member of Parliament (MP) for Kindersley—Lloydminster from 1993 to 1997 as a member of the Reform Party, and as a ...

to the legislature in the 1999 election. When

Brad Wall Bradley John Wall (born November 24, 1965) is a former Canadian politician who served as the 14th premier of Saskatchewan from November 21, 2007, until February 2, 2018. He is the fourth longest-tenured premier in the province's history. W ...

became leader of the party in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he named Krawetz as Deputy Leader. Following the 2007 provincial election that saw the Saskatchewan Party take power for the first time, Wall appointed Krawetz to the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

as Deputy Premier and Minister of Education. In a

cabinet shuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the head of state changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parliam ...

on June 29, 2010, Wall moved Krawetz to the Finance Ministry, while Krawetz retained his post as Deputy Premier. On April 28, 2014, Krawetz announced that he would not seek a new term in the 2016 election. Krawetz was shuffled out of the cabinet on May 21, 2015, but was given a role as Legislative Secretary on Saskatchewan-Ukraine relations.

Awards

In January 2009, Krawetz was presented with the

Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise () is a Ukrainian award. It is awarded for distinguished services to the state and people of the Ukrainian nation in the field of state building, strengthening the international prestige of Ukraine, develop ...

– the highest honour a non-citizen of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

can receive – by Ukraine's president,

Viktor Yushchenko Viktor Andriiovych Yushchenko (, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. He aimed to orient Ukraine towards Western world, the West, European Union, and N ...

, in recognition of Krawetz's efforts in ensuring the passage of the ''Ukrainian Famine and Genocide (

Holodomor The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian Famine, was a mass famine in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–193 ...

Memorial Day) Act'' (Bill 40) through the Saskatchewan legislature; and in promoting awareness throughout the province of the Holodomor's 75th anniversary during 2007 and 2008.

References

1951 births Living people Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise People from Rama, Saskatchewan Members of the Executive Council of Saskatchewan Deputy premiers of Saskatchewan Ministers of finance of Saskatchewan Leaders of the opposition of Saskatchewan 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs Saskatchewan Party MLAs {{Liberal-Saskatchewan-MLA-stub