John Bracken
John Bracken, PC ( born June 22, 1883 in Ellisville, Ontario, † March 18, 1969 in Ottawa ) was a Canadian politician, agricultural scientist and author. From August 8, 1922 until January 14, 1943, he was Prime Minister of the province of Manitoba. In 1942 he took over the presidency of the newly founded Progressive Conservative Party and led this party acting at the federal level until 1948. From 1945 to 1949 he was a deputy in the lower house.
Biography
Bracken, the son of a dairy farmer, studied agronomy at the Agricultural College of the Province of Ontario. In 1905 he moved to the province of Saskatchewan, where he worked for the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1910 he was appointed professor of animal husbandry at the University of Saskatchewan. Bracken was a recognized expert in the area of dryland farming and has written several books on this topic. Crop Production in Western Canada (1920 ) and Dry Farming in Western Canada ( 1921) developed into standard works. From 1920, he established the Agricultural College of the Province of Manitoba.
1922 Bracken ran with success in the elections to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. He was a member of the United Farmers of Manitoba, a loose association of farmers who were disappointed by the party politics. The United Farmers won an absolute majority, but had no chairman, which is why they turned to Bracken. This took the offer and was sworn in as Prime Minister. In addition to office as Prime Minister he had in the next 21 years, additional ministerial posts ( Education 1922-1923, 1922-1923 and 1935-1940 Railways, Agriculture from 1923 to 1925 and 1936 to the Treasury from 1925 to 1932, utilities 1927-1928, Mining 1928 - 1930).
After the elections of 1928 was formed of the United Farmers, Progressive Party of Manitoba. Four years later, it merged with the Liberals to the Liberal - Progressive Party. Bracken was anxious to support its government wide and repeatedly went coalitions with other parties. Although he had worked at the provincial level with the Liberals, Bracken received the offer to perform at the federal level, the Conservative Party. In December 1942, he was elected chairman, ideologically closer to move on the condition that the party to the center and rename it in Progressive Conservative Party.
A few weeks later Bracken resigned as Prime Minister of Manitoba. He renounced, first, to be secured by a by-election a seat in the House of Commons. Finally, he was elected in the general election in 1945 in the electoral district Neepawa. However, the Progressive Conservatives missed their target choice significantly and remained in opposition. Bracken was the influential members from the eastern provinces never win right for you and was eventually forced to resign. His successor as chairman resigned in October 1948 to George A. Drew. Bracken lost his seat at the general election in 1949, retired from politics and devoted himself thereafter in Ontario horse breeding.