Erik Nielsen
President of the Privy Council | |
---|---|
In office September 17, 1984 – February 26, 1985 | |
Prime Minister | Brian Mulroney |
Preceded by | André Ouellet |
Succeeded by | Ray Hnatyshyn |
Minister of Public Works | |
In office June 4, 1979 – March 2, 1980 | |
Prime Minister | Joe Clark |
Preceded by | André Ouellet |
Succeeded by | Paul Cosgrove |
Member of Parliament for Yukon | |
In office December 16, 1957 – January 16, 1987 | |
Preceded by | James Aubrey Simmons |
Succeeded by | Audrey McLaughlin |
Personal details | |
Born | Erik Hersholt Nielsen February 24, 1924 RCAF |
Years of service | 1942–1945 1946–1951 |
Rank | Lieutenant |
Erik Hersholt Nielsen
Early life, family, and education
Nielsen was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, the eldest of three boys. His mother, Mabel Elizabeth (née Davies), was an immigrant from Wales, and his father, Ingvard Eversen Nielsen, was a Danish-born constable in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.[1][2][3] Nielsen's family lived mainly in Alberta during his formative years, and he graduated from high school in Edmonton in 1942.[4]
World War II
Nielsen joined the
Parliament
Nielsen was elected to parliament in late 1957 (Nielsen lost in the 1957 federal election, but the result was controverted and Nielsen won the resulting byelection) and remained an MP without interruption for 30 years. He was a backbench MP during the Diefenbaker government but became prominent during the Conservative Party's long period in Opposition during the 1960s and 1970s joining the shadow cabinet in 1964. In 1978, he ran for the leadership of the newly formed Yukon Progressive Conservative Party as it prepared for the territory's first partisan elections but was defeated by Hilda Watson by one vote.[5]
With the
Nielsen served as
When Mulroney became prime minister, he made Nielsen his
Nielsen was sometimes called "Yukon Erik",
Nielsen resigned his seat in Parliament in January 1987 when he was given the position of chairman of the National Transportation Agency. He withdrew from the public service in 1992 to become president of Solar Engineering, Hawaii Inc. and Solar Electric Engineering Distributors Canada.
One of Nielsen's brothers was actor Leslie Nielsen. The relationship formed the premise of an HBO mockumentary titled The Canadian Conspiracy, comically alleging a Canadian subversion of the United States through its media. Nielsen was also a nephew of actor Jean Hersholt.
Nielsen wrote a memoir, The House Is Not a Home (1989,
He died at his home in
References
- ISBN 0-8020-4579-0.
- ISBN 0-8020-8865-1. Archivedfrom the original on August 2, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ProQuest 218390756.
- ^ ISBN 0771594267.
- ^ "Part 2: The Formation of the Yukon Party :: Yukon Party". yukonparty.ca. Archived from the original on August 28, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2022.
- ^ Jim Lotz, Prime Ministers of Canada, Bison Books, 1987, p. 154
- ^ Lotz, p. 150.
- ^ "Erik Nielsen dies in B.C. at 84". The Globe and Mail. September 5, 2008. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
- ^ "Yukon names airport after former MP Nielsen". CBC News. December 16, 2008. Archived from the original on August 16, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
External links
- Erik Nielsen – Parliament of Canada biography
- Leslie and Erik Nielsen laugh it up (audio) 1991 Peter Gzowski interview with Leslie and Erik Nielsen