Richard Nerysoo (born 1953)Guide Parlementaire Canadien
/ref> is a territorial level politician from 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. ...

, Canada. He was a member of the Northwest Territories Legislature from 1979 to 1995 and served as the third

premier of the Northwest Territories The premier of the Northwest Territories is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories. The premier is the territory's head of government, although the powers of the office are considerably ...

and Speaker.

Political career

Nerysoo served a long career as Member of the Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories (MLA). He was first elected in the 1979 Northwest Territories general election in the Mackenzie Delta electoral district, becoming the youngest MLA in the history of the Northwest Territories. Nerysoo was re-elected in the 1983 Northwest Territories general election. He was elected by the Legislative Assembly to serve as the third Premier of the

. His election as Premier made him the first Aboriginal in Canada to serve in the role, as well as the youngest Premier in Canadian history and the first native-born Premier of the Northwest Territories. He was re-elected in the

1987 Northwest Territories general election File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

. History would be made by Nerysoo again when he was elected on October 19, 1989 as the first Aboriginal Speaker of the Assembly, and served in that role until November 13, 1991. He was re-elected to a fourth term in the

1991 Northwest Territories general election The 1991 Northwest Territories general election was held on October 15, 1991. Election Results The election was held in 24 constituencies with 16,068 ballots cast, a turnout of 76.25%. Outgoing Premier Dennis Patterson Dennis Glen Patterson ...

. Nerysoo was defeated by candidate

David Krutko David Krutko (born November 11, 1957) is a retired territorial level politician in Northern Canada and a former speaker of the Northwest Territories legislature. Krutko was first elected to the Northwest Territories legislature in the 1995 gene ...

in the

1995 Northwest Territories general election File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

. In 1996, Nerysoo was elected as President of the Gwich'in Tribal Council and served until 2000. Nerysoo was one of the founding Directors of the Aboriginal Pipeline Group. Nerysoo was the founding member of Gwich'in Council International, a body that represents the Gwich'in in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

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 ...

, and the Northwest Territories as permanent participants on the

Arctic Council The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic. At present, eight countries exercise sovereignty over the lands within the Arctic Circle ...

. Nerysoo was elected Chief of the Inuvik Native Band and President of the Nihtat Gwich'in Council in 2003 and served until 2008. He was selected as the Chief Negotiator on the Access and Benefits Agreements with Imperial Oil Ltd. who represented the Mackenzie Gas Project. He was elected as President of the Gwich'in Tribal Council again from 2008 to 2012, during which time he served as the Chair and President of the Gwich'in Development Corporation. Nerysoo was a member of the Working Group on Natural Resources Development as a representative of the Assembly of First Nations. Nerysoo was also selected as the Co-chair of the Chiefs Committee on Economic Development. Nerysoo served as the Chief Negotiator on NWT Transboundary rights and interest for the

First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun ( English: "First Nation of the Big River People") is a First Nation band government in Yukon, Canada. Its main population centre is in Mayo, Yukon, but many of its members live across Canada and the United Sta ...

References

External links

Native Aboriginal Achievement Awards: article on Richard NerysooGwich'in Tribal Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nerysoo, Richard 1953 births Living people 20th-century First Nations people 21st-century First Nations people First Nations politicians Gwich'in people Indspire Awards Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Premiers of the Northwest Territories Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories