John Turner

John Napier Turner PC, CC, QC ( born June 7, 1929 in Richmond upon Thames, Surrey, England ) is a Canadian politician. He was on 30 June 1984 to 17 September 1984, the 17th Prime Minister of Canada. His term of 79 days after that of Charles Tupper, the second shortest in Canadian history. From 1968 to 1975 he was a member of the federal government of Pierre Trudeau, including as Finance Minister and as Minister of Justice. Turner is one of the Liberal Party to which he was chairman from 1984 to 1990.

Early years

Turner was born in England. When his father died in 1932, he moved with his mother and siblings to Canada. His mother, Phyllis economist Gregory, worked in Ottawa for the Canadian Federal Government. She married Frank Mackenzie Ross, who later became Vice- Governor of the Province of British Columbia. John Turner was educated at private schools in Ottawa, in 1945 he began to study law at the University of British Columbia ( UBC) in Vancouver.

Turner was a gifted athlete. In the late 1940s he was one of the best sprinters of Canada and ran national records in the 100 and 200 yards. He qualified for the Olympic Summer Games in London in 1948, but a knee injury prevented him from attending. In 1949 he was awarded a Rhodes scholarship and continued his studies at Magdalen College at the University of Oxford on. There he became friends with the late Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. 1952/53, he was studying temporarily at the University of Paris.

In 1954, Turner admitted as a lawyer and then worked for the law firm Stikeman Elliott in Montreal. At a party in May 1959, which kept his stepfather at the opening of its new Headquarters, Turner danced so extensively with the British Princess Margaret, that in the media, the rumor made ​​the rounds, the two had a romantic relationship. In 1963 he married Geills McCrae Kilgour, the great-niece of the writer John McCrae.

MP and Minister

Turner ran in the general election in 1962 and won the constituency of Saint -Laurent -Saint -Georges in Montreal. In the winter of 1965, he was staying with his wife in Barbados on vacation. At the beach, he noticed that the former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, who was staying at the same hotel, was caught in a dangerous current. Turner jumped into the water, pulled Diefenbaker to shore and thereby saved his life.

Prime Minister Lester Pearson called Turner in December 1965 the Cabinet, first as Minister without Portfolio. From December 1967 he was Minister of Consumer and relationships with companies. After Pearson had announced his imminent resignation, a congress was held in April 1968, to elect a new chairman. Turner was there the youngest of nine candidates. He thrust forward into the fourth ballot, but ultimately succumbed Pierre Trudeau, who three months later appointed him as Minister of Justice. Since his constituency was divided in Montreal, represented Turner since the general election in 1968 the constituency of Ottawa - Carleton.

As Minister of Justice initiated a reform of criminal law and Turner 1970 played an important role in addressing the October crisis. In January 1972 he was appointed Minister of Finance. After losing the majority in November 1972, the Liberal government was forced to reduce taxes and increase pensions. Thus they could not win the elections in 1974, the measures, however, led to high inflation. For this reason, Turner had in 1975 to introduce wage and price controls.

In September 1975 Turner declared unexpectedly resigned. He gave no specific reason, the media suspected, however, personal conflicts with Trudeau led to that step. In February 1976, Turner was also on a seat in parliament. In the following years he worked for the prestigious law firm McMillan Binch in Toronto, where he specialized in corporate law. The new job allowed him to spend more time with his four adolescent children.

Prime minister

In February 1984, Trudeau announced his imminent resignation, as it became clear in opinion polls that the Liberals would lose with him at the head of the elections. Turner decided to get back into politics. At the party on June 16, 1984, he was elected party chairman, said he prevailed in the second round against Jean Chrétien. On June 30, he was sworn in as Prime Minister, ten days later he called new elections.

The election campaign the Liberals before the general election in 1984 was poorly organized and was not able to compensate for the massive unpopularity of the ruling party. As one of his last official acts Pierre Trudeau had occupied more than 200 well-paid items ( senators, judges, directors of state enterprises ) with loyal party members. These appointments triggered outrage across the political spectrum. Turner could have made these appointments canceled without further ado, but took before even 70 more appointments. Brian Mulroney, leader of the opposition Progressive Conservative Party, confronted Turner in the TV debates with this fact, and brought him in intense distress.

On September 4, 1984, the Liberals suffered the worst defeat in their history. They captured only 40 seats and lost a third of their previous voters. Turner himself was indeed elected in the constituency of Vancouver Quadra, but eleven of his cabinet ministers were voted out. On September 17, 1984 Turner resigned after only 79 days in office back as head of government. Since Parliament had not had a session since he took office, he was never able to present a new bill.

Leader of the Opposition

After the crushing defeat was Turner opposition leader. The Liberals were in the House, although do little, but they used their majority in the Senate to interfere with Mulroney's government work. Party members asked Turner's leadership repeatedly questioned. In November 1986, he was confirmed with over three -quarters of the delegates' votes. As of 1987, the numbers rose in the polls again significantly.

Before the general election, 1988, Turner a much more aggressive campaign than it was four years earlier. In particular, he turned vehemently against the proposed Free Trade Agreement with the Government of the United States. The Liberals increased their seat number to more than double, yet they failed to oust the Progressive Conservatives. In May 1989, he announced his imminent resignation as party leader known Jean Chrétien succeeded him in June 1990.

Retirement from politics

Turner retained his House seat until September 1993, but remained largely in the background and retired after all from politics. He resumed his former career as a lawyer and worked for the law firm Miller Thomson in Toronto. In several Canadian companies, he sat on the Board. In 2004, he headed the Canadian delegation of election observers in the presidential elections in Ukraine.