Anders Olav Aalborg (August 24, 1914 – February 13, 2000) was a teacher and a politician from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sin ...

from 1948 to 1971 as a member of the Social Credit caucus, and served in the cabinets of Premier

Ernest Manning Ernest Charles Manning, (September 20, 1908 – February 19, 1996), a Canadian politician, was the eighth Premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta. He served longer than any other premier in Alberta's histor ...

and

Harry Strom Harry Edwin Strom (July 7, 1914 – October 2, 1984) was the ninth premier of Alberta, from 1968 to 1971. His two-and-a-half years as Premier were the last of the thirty-six-year Social Credit dynasty, as his defeat by Peter Lougheed saw its r ...

from 1952 to 1971.

Early life

Anders Olav Aalborg was born on August 24, 1914, in Oxville,

. He grew up on the family farm and attended school in the area. He took his post secondary education in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and became a teacher. He taught and served as a principal at various schools in the

County of Vermilion River The County of Vermilion River is a municipal district located in the eastern part of central Alberta, Canada in Census Division No. 10. The municipal district was formerly named the County of Vermilion River No. 24 prior to an official name c ...

from 1933 to 1952, when he left teaching to assume his duties as a cabinet minister. He married Catherine May Burn in 1939 and had two children. He served as vice-president of the

Alberta Teachers' Association The Alberta Teachers' Association (ATA) is the professional association for the teachers of Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinc ...

from 1945 to 1949.

Political career

Aalborg first ran for office in the 1945 federal election, as the Social Credit candidate in the riding of

The Battlefords The Battlefords is the collective name given to the adjacent communities of the City of North Battleford and the Town of Battleford in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. As of the 2011 census, the two communities have a combined population of 1 ...

; he finished last in a field of four candidates. In 1948 he ran successfully for the Alberta Legislature in the riding of

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

. He ran for re-election in the 1952 Alberta general election and held his seat easily winning the two-way race. After the election Premier

appointed Aalborg to the

Executive Council of Alberta The Executive Council of Alberta (the Cabinet) is a body of ministers of the Crown in right of Alberta, who along with the lieutenant governor, exercises the powers of the Government of Alberta. Ministers are selected by the premier and typica ...

as Minister of Education on September 9, 1952. He ran for a third term in office with ministerial advantage in the

1955 Alberta general election The 1955 Alberta general election was held on June 29, 1955, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Despite losing almost 10% of the popular vote (compared to its 1952 proportion of the vote) and 30% of its seats in the legislat ...

. He won the four-way race with a large majority to return to office. Aalborg ran for a fourth term in the 1959 Alberta general election. He slightly increased his popular vote over the last election easily defeating two other candidates to return to office. Alborg ran for a fifth term in the 1963 Alberta general election. He won the largest popular vote of his political career to easily hold his seat. After the election on July 30, 1964, Premier Manning shuffled his cabinet. He gave Aalborg the prestigious Provincial Treasurer position. He ran for his sixth term in the 1967 Alberta general election and won the four-way race with another large majority. Premier Manning gave Aalborg the Railways and Telephones portfolio in addition to his Provincial Treasurer portfolio on July 13, 1967. He lost that portfolio a year later when

became Premier on December 11, 1968. Aalborg had initially been reckoned as Manning's natural successor when Manning announced his retirement earlier in the year, but did not offer himself as a candidate due to poor health. Aalborg retired from the legislature at dissolution in 1971.

Late life

Aalborg died on February 13, 2000 in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aalbord, Anders 1914 births 2000 deaths Alberta Social Credit Party MLAs People from the County of Vermilion River Members of the Executive Council of Alberta