Oddur Olafson (February 25, 1888 – December 16, 1972) was a politician in

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba () is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at List of Manitoba genera ...

from 1941 to 1945 as a Liberal Independent. Olafson was born to an

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic family in Riverton, Manitoba. He was educated in Riverton, and later became president of Olafson Transportation Co. Limited, based in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. He was also a member of the Lisgar

Masonic Lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

No. 2 in Selkirk. He was elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1936 provincial election, defeating a candidate of the Conservative Party in the sprawling northern constituency of Rupertsland. As a Liberal Independent, he opposed the 1932 alliance between the Liberal Party and the Progressive Party of

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 ...

John Bracken John Bracken (22 June 1883 – 18 March 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–194 ...

. Only one other Liberal Independent was elected, and Olafson sat as an opposition member for the next four years. In 1940, he supported the all-party

coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...

created by John Bracken after the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Olafson did not seek re-election in the 1941 campaign. He tried to return to the legislature as a pro-coalition independent in the 1945 election, but lost to Liberal-Progressive Daniel Hamilton by 206 votes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olafson, Oddur 1888 births 1972 deaths Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs Canadian people of Icelandic descent 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba