Ronald J. Duhamel, (March 2, 1938 – September 30, 2002) was a

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 ...

Member of Parliament and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

Biography

Ronald Duhamel was born in

Saint Boniface, Manitoba St. Boniface (or Saint Boniface) is a Ward (electoral subdivision), city ward and neighbourhood in Winnipeg. Along with being the centre of the Franco-Manitoban community, it ranks as the largest Francophone Canadian, francophone community in Wes ...

, he obtained a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) from

Lakehead University Lakehead University is a public research university with campuses in Thunder Bay and Orillia, Ontario, Canada. Lakehead University, shortened to 'Lakehead U', is non-denominational and provincially supported. It has undergraduate programs, gradua ...

and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA) and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. He was a teacher, school principal, professor at 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 ...

, assistant deputy minister of education, and deputy minister of education 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 ...

. He died of cancer on September 30, 2002, survived by his wife Carolyn and three daughters, Kathie, Natalie and Karine.

Political career

Duhamel was elected as a Liberal candidate in the riding of

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...

in the 1988 federal election. He was re-elected in

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Duhamel was wildly popular in the riding and never won an election with less than 50% of the vote, winning each of his elections by 52%, 63%, 51% and 52%. In 2000, Duhamel was appointed to the federal Cabinet by Prime Minister

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

to the portfolio of

Veterans Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

, a post he held until 2002. Other posts he held include Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Public Works (Public Works and Government Services), Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board, Secretary of State (Science, Research and Development), Secretary of State (Western Economic Diversification), and Secretary of State (Francophonie). Duhamel was appointed to the Senate on January 15, 2002, representing the senatorial division of Manitoba.

Electoral history

References

*
Debates of the Senate (Hansard), 2nd Session, 37th Parliament, Volume 140, Issue 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duhamel, Ronald 1938 births 2002 deaths Canadian senators from Manitoba Franco-Manitoban people Lakehead University alumni University of Toronto alumni Liberal Party of Canada MPs Liberal Party of Canada senators Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Manitoba Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from St. Boniface, Winnipeg Politicians from Winnipeg Academic staff of the University of Manitoba 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century members of the House of Commons of Canada 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada Minister of veterans affairs of Canada