Peter Lougheed
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The Honourable Peter Lougheed, PC, CC, QC, MBA, LL.D., LL.B., BA (born July 26, 1928, in Calgary, Alberta) is a Canadian lawyer, politician and Canadian Football League player. He served as premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985.
Lougheed is the grandson of Sir James Alexander Lougheed. In 1950, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree, and in 1952, he received a Bachelor of Laws degree, both from the University of Alberta. While in Edmonton as a student, he played football for the Edmonton Eskimos. In 1954, he received a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University.
In 1965, he was elected leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party. The party won the 1971 provincial election, with 49 of the 75 seats in the legislature, defeating the Social Credit Party which had governed the province since the 1935 election. Lougheed established a Tory dynasty in the province that has continued uninterrupted since then. Lougheed led his party to victory in the 1975, 1979 and 1982 provincial elections. The PC Party was re-elected most recently in the 2004 election.
As Premier, Lougheed furthered the development of the oil and gas resources, and started the Alberta Heritage Fund as a way of ensuring that the exploitation of non-renewable resources would be of long-term benefit to Alberta. He also introduced the Alberta Bill of Rights. Lougheed quarrelled with Pierre Trudeau's federal Liberal government over their introduction of the National Energy Program.
Lougheed currently sits on the boards of a variety of organizations and corporations, including the Royal Bank of Canada and the Carlyle Group.
In 1986, he was named a Companion of the Order of Canada. In 2001 he was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
| Preceded by: Harry E. Strom | Premier of Alberta 1971-1985 | Succeeded by: Donald Getty |