Preceded by Frank Fane Residence Calgary, Canada Role Canadian Politician | Name Don Mazankowski Constituency Vegreville Succeeded by Leon Benoit | |
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Full Name Donald Frank Mazankowski Born July 27, 1935 (age 88)
Viking, Alberta ( 1935-07-27 ) Political party Progressive Conservative Party of Canada Profession businessman, consultant, politician Party Progressive Conservative Party of Canada | ||
Tribute to the rt hon don mazankowski
Donald Frank "Don" Mazankowski, PC CC AOE (born July 27, 1935) is a Canadian politician who served as a cabinet minister under Prime Ministers Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney. He was also Deputy Prime Minister under Mulroney. He is currently a consultant with the law firm Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP. He also serves as a director or trustee for a number of companies, including Weyerhaeuser Co., ATCO Ltd., Shaw Communications Inc., and Power Corporation of Canada.
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Life and career
Mazankowski was born in Viking, Alberta, to parents of Polish descent. He went into business and became the manager of an auto dealership. Long interested in politics, Mazankowski became an important member of the Albertan Progressive Conservative Party, and in the 1968 federal election, he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Vegreville, Alberta.
During the short-lived Clark government, Mazankowski served as Minister of Transport. When the Tories returned to power under Mulroney in the 1984 election, Mazankowski again became Minister of Transport. In 1986, he was promoted to Deputy Prime Minister and Government House Leader. Mazankowski became one of the most widely known public faces of the Tory government. He played an especially important role as an advocate for the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement and the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The Mulroney government became increasingly unpopular, however, but Mazankowski was less severely affected than others. In 1991, he became Finance Minister, replacing Michael Wilson.
Mazankowski retired from politics on June 7, 1993. When Kim Campbell succeeded Mulroney as PC leader and prime minister two weeks later, Mazankowski was replaced as Finance Minister by Gilles Loiselle. Mazankowski did not run in the 1993 election that saw his party reduced to two seats in the House of Commons. Mazankowski returned to the private sector, and served on the boards of several organizations, including the University of Alberta. He declined an offer of a Senate seat made by Brian Mulroney in his final days as Prime Minister.
He has remained involved in politics. In 2002, he headed an investigation in Alberta's health care system. He also played an important role in the merger between the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance party, and is a strong supporter of the new Conservative Party of Canada.
Honours
Mazankowski is one of the few Canadians to be given the title of "The Right Honourable" without having held an office that would entitle him to it automatically, and he is the only living person of such status. In 2000, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and he was promoted to Companion in 2013. He was inducted to the Alberta Order of Excellence in 2003.