Olga Ilich (born 1951 or 1952) is a former

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

politician. She represented the riding of Richmond Centre in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

from 2005 to 2009 as a member of the

British Columbia Liberal Party BC United (BCU), known from 1903 until 2023 as the British Columbia Liberal Party or BC Liberals, is a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party has been described as conservative, neoliberal, and occupying a centre-right ...

, and served in the

Executive Council of British Columbia The Executive Council of British Columbia (the Cabinet) is the Cabinet of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Almost always composed of members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, the Cabinet is similar in structure and rol ...

from 2005 to 2008.

Biography

Born in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, she moved to

Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough, New Westminster, Queensborough), between the two estuarine dis ...

in 1959, graduating from Steveston Secondary School. After receiving a bachelor of arts degree from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

, she attended the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

and graduated with a master of arts degree, and attained an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular a ...

from the

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

. She was hired at Richmond-based Progressive Construction by Milan Ilich in 1980, eventually becoming the company's executive vice-president. At one point she was married to Milan's brother Bob, with whom she has two sons. She went on to found her own real estate company Suncor Development. She ran for the BC Liberals in the 2005 provincial election, and was elected

member of the Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nation ...

(MLA) for Richmond Centre. She was named to

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 ...

Gordon Campbell's cabinet as Minister of Tourism, Sports and the Arts that June, before being re-assigned as Minister of Labour and Citizens’ Services in August 2006. During her time on the labour file, the provincial government implemented regulations to protect gas station workers by mandating pre-payment at urban gas stations at night. In December 2007 she announced her decision to not seek a second term as MLA at the next provincial election; she was dropped from the cabinet in June 2008. After finishing her term in May 2009, she was named by

mayor of Vancouver The mayor of Vancouver is the head and chief executive officer of Vancouver, British Columbia, who is elected for a four-year term. The 41st and current officeholder is Ken Sim, who has held office since November 7, 2022. List indicate ...

Gregor Robertson in December 2011 to co-chair a task force on housing affordability. She became a member of Destination Canada's board of directors in 2014, and served as chair of the board from 2015 to 2017.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia- Olga Ilich
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilich, Olga Year of birth missing (living people) Living people BC United MLAs Canadian businesspeople in real estate Dutch emigrants to Canada Members of the Executive Council of British Columbia People from Richmond, British Columbia University of British Columbia alumni University of Manitoba alumni Memorial University of Newfoundland alumni Women government ministers of Canada Women MLAs in British Columbia 21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 21st-century Canadian women politicians