Leonard Archibald (Len) Simms (born October 23, 1943) 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 ...

politician from

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. He was the Progressive Conservative Member of the House of Assembly for

Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans Grand Falls-Windsor—Buchans is a provincial electoral district for the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Prior to 2006, the district was Grand Falls-Buchans, while expanded slightly in all directions it took in no major ...

from 1979 to 1995. From 2005 until 2014, Simms was chairman and chief executive officer of the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation, a provincial

crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the governmen ...

. He served as Speaker of the House of Assembly from 1979 to 1982 when he was appointed to the provincial

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 * Filing ...

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 ...

Brian Peckford Alfred Brian Peckford (born August 27, 1942) is a Canadian politician who served as the third premier of Newfoundland from March 26, 1979 to March 22, 1989. A member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party, Peckford was first elected as the ...

. Simms served in the portfolios of Culture, Recreation and Youth, Forest Resources and Lands, President of Treasury Board and President of Executive Council. Simms ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1989 but lost to Tom Rideout who subsequently appointed him Development Minister in his Cabinet. The Tory government was defeated in the 1989 general election and Simms moved to the Opposition benches. He succeeded Rideout in 1991 to become

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

and party leader. The party lost the 1993 general election and Simms resigned as party leader two years later. He was appointed head of the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation by Premier Danny Williams in 2005. In 2007 he stepped down in order to take a senior role in Williams' 2007 re-election campaign and was immediately re-appointed to the $130,000 a year housing corporation position following the election leading to complaints of "blatant patronage" from the Opposition.Critics decry 'obscene' patronage in Simms reappointment
''CBC News'', October 19, 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simms, Len 1943 births Living people Speakers of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly Members of the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador MHAs Newfoundland and Labrador political party leaders Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador