Appointed by Jean Chretien Preceded by District created Preceded by Ambrose Hubert Peddle Name Bill Rompkey Spouse Carolyn Pike (m. 1963) | Preceded by Jack Marshall Succeeded by Lawrence O'Brien Succeeded by District abolished Role Canadian Senator Party Liberal Party of Canada | |
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Office Canadian Senator since 1995 Books The story of Labrador Education University of Toronto, Memorial University of Newfoundland, University of London Cabinet Minister of State, Minister of National Revenue | ||
Meet Senator Bill Rompkey
William (Bill) Hubert Rompkey, PC (born May 13, 1936) is a Canadian educator who served as Member of Parliament from 1972 to 1995 and a senator from 1995 to 2011.
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Early life and education
Rompkey was born in Belleoram, Fortune Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador. He attended Bishop Feild College in St. John's. In 1953, after he left Bishop Feild College, Rompkey entered Memorial University, where he graduated with a BA, a diploma in education, and an MA. Rompkey continued his studies at the University of London, England, where he received the Academic Diploma in Education.
Career as an educator
After Rompkey returned from his studies in London, he started his career as an educator. Rompkey taught school at Upper Island Cove and in St. John's. In 1963, he married fellow Memorial University graduate Carolyn Pike, and then, lured by Tony Paddon, Rompkey took an appointment as principal of the Yale Amalgamated School in North West River. Rompkey later became the first Superintendent of Education with the Labrador East Integrated School Board, a position he held until 1971. In January 1972, Rompkey was studying for his Ph.D. in Adult Education at the University of Toronto when he won the nomination to represent the Grand Falls-White Bay-Labrador riding for the Liberal Party.
The House of Commons
Rompkey was first elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 1972 federal election as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Grand Falls-White Bay-Labrador, the first of seven consecutive election victories. In 1980, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau elevated Rompkey to the Canadian Cabinet as Minister of National Revenue. In 1982, he was moved to the position of Minister of State for Small Businesses and Tourism becoming Minister of State for Mines in 1984. He was Minister of State for Transport in the short lived Cabinet of John Turner until the government's defeat in the 1984 election.
Senate
In 1995, Governor General of Canada Romeo LeBlanc, on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chretien, appointed Rompkey to the Canadian Senate. In 2001, he became Government Whip in the Senate and was deputy leader of the government in the Senate until the Conservatives took power in February 2006. He reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 on May 13, 2011.