Ronald Stanley Thornton Russell (22 July 1926 – 7 March 2019) was a Canadian politician and pilot who lived in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Early life and education

Russell was born in

Ngongotahā Ngongotahā is a small settlement on the western shores of Lake Rotorua in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located northwest of the Rotorua central business district, and is considered as a suburb of Rotorua. It is part of the Rotorua ...

, New Zealand. He was a pilot for the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF; ) is the aerial warfare, aerial military service, service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed initially in 1923 as a branch of the New Zealand Army, being known as the New Zealand Perm ...

during the

Second World War 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 ...

, and later joined the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

. Russell was educated at the Ryerson Institute of Technology and Queen's University. He retired from the RCAF in 1973, and then worked several years as the Manager of

Halifax International Airport Halifax Stanfield International Airport is a Canadian airport in Goffs, Nova Scotia, a rural community of the Halifax Regional Municipality. It serves the Halifax region, mainland Nova Scotia, and adjacent areas in the neighbouring Maritime pr ...

Political career

Russell served five years on the municipal council for

West Hants West Hants, officially named the West Hants Regional Municipality, is a regional municipality in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It occupies the western half of Hants County, running from the Minas Basin to the boundary with Halifax Cou ...

before entering provincial politics. He was first elected to the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

in the 1978 general election and was re-elected in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

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 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, and

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

; holding the seat until his retirement in 2006. Russell was Speaker of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia on three occasions, from 1978 to 1980, from 1991 to 1993 and again from 1998 until 1999. He was the first Speaker to be elected by his peers rather than be appointed by the Premier. He served in the

Executive Council of Nova Scotia The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the cabinet is s ...

holding various portfolios under four different

Premiers 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 governm ...

. He was Minister of Consumer Affairs from 1980 to 1981, of Health from 1985 to 1987, and was Solicitor General from 1987 to 1989 under Premier John Buchanan. He was Labour Minister from 1989 to 1991 under Roger Stuart Bacon.

Personal life

Russell married Anna Isfeld. Russell died on 7 March 2019, at the age of 92.

References

Entry from Canadian Who's Who
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Ron 1926 births 2019 deaths Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs Speakers of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia People from Ngongotaha New Zealand emigrants to Canada Deputy premiers of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia municipal councillors 20th-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly 21st-century members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly