Roy John Romanow (born August 12, 1939) is a Canadian politician and the 12th premier of Saskatchewan from 1991 to 2001.

Early life

Romanow was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to Tekla and Michael Romanow, who were Ukrainian immigrants from Ordiv, currently Chervonohrad Raion, Ukraine. His first language as a child was Ukrainian. He studied at the University of Saskatchewan, earning a B.A. in Political Science and a LL.B. while involving himself heavily and early on in student politics.

Political career

Electoral record

Romanow had considerable electoral success, being elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan eight times in the nine general elections from 1967 to 1999, as a member of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in the 1967 provincial election in the riding of Saskatoon Riversdale. He was re-elected in the general elections of

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

and

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

. In the 1982 general election he was defeated by Jo-Ann Zazelenchuk, a 22-year-old retail employee, but easily defeated Zazelenchuk in a

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

rematch, taking over 68 percent of the vote. He was re-elected in the general elections of

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. He resigned his seat in 2001.

Member of the Blakeney government

Romanow served in the cabinet of Premier Allan Blakeney from 1971 to 1982. At various times, Romanow served as

deputy premier A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

for Saskatchewan. During the 1981 discussions over patriation of the Canadian constitution, the federal Minister of Justice,

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

, the Ontario Attorney General,

Roy McMurtry Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

, and Romanow worked out the final details of Canada's new constitutional provisions, resulting in the famous late-night

Kitchen Accord Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the Constitution Act, 1982. The process was necessary because under the Statute of Westminster 1931, with Canada's agreement at the time, the Parliament o ...

. Romanow objected strongly to any protections on private property in the new '' Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'', and none were included.

Premier of Saskatchewan

On November 7, 1987, Romanow replaced Allan Blakeney as leader of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party and Leader of the

Official Opposition Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''th ...

. When the NDP won a majority of seats in the 1991 provincial election, he became Premier of Saskatchewan. Romanow's government was more conservative than previous NDP administrations, and was considered a practitioner of Third Way policies. Romanow, who inherited a $14 billion debt from the previous Conservative government, eliminated the annual budgetary deficit by closing rural hospitals, cutting services and raising taxes. Romanow's government also had the benefit of substantially lower interest rates at a national level than did his predecessor in the 1980s. The Romanow NDP explained the cutbacks to the left wing of the party by claiming Romanow's range of political action was limited by the large debt accumulated by previous governments. In the 1999 provincial election, the NDP was re-elected to a third consecutive term, but was reduced to a minority of seats in the legislature. Romanow along with Dwain Lingenfelter negotiated an agreement to form a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

with the Saskatchewan Liberal Party, appointing several Liberals to

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

. Romanow retired in 2001, and was replaced as leader of the NDP and Premier by Lorne Calvert.

Life after politics

Refusal to enter federal politics

Romanow was well-acquainted with

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

, Liberal Prime Minister from 1968–1979 and 1980–1984. He remains a close friend of Jean Chrétien, who was a Liberal prime minister from 1993 to 2003. The federal Liberals, and especially Jean Chrétien, had long tried to encourage Romanow to run federally as a Liberal, but he always refused.

Federal Royal commission on the future of health care in Canada

On April 4, 2001, Romanow was appointed to head the Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson, on the advice of Prime Minister

. He released the Romanow Report in 2002, which outlined suggestions to improve the health care system.

Honours

On November 13, 2003 he was sworn in as a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada by Governor General Clarkson, again on the advice of Prime Minister Chrétien. In 2003, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. Romanow's official portrait was unveiled at Saskatchewan's Legislative Assembly in 2005, when he received the Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan from Lieutenant Governor Lynda Haverstock.

Academic positions

* He served as the Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan from 2016 to 2019. * He is a senior policy fellow in the College of Arts and Science at the University of Saskatchewan.

References

External links

Article on Saskatchewan Order of Merit Appointment
{{DEFAULTSORT:Romanow, Roy 1939 births Attorneys-General of Saskatchewan Canadian people of Ukrainian descent Canadian King's Counsel Lawyers in Saskatchewan Leaders of the Saskatchewan CCF/NDP Living people Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Politicians from Saskatoon Premiers of Saskatchewan Saskatchewan New Democratic Party MLAs University of Saskatchewan alumni University of Saskatchewan College of Law alumni 20th-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian politicians Members of the Executive Council of Saskatchewan