Caroline Cochrane (born December 5, 1960) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician, who is the 13th and current

premier of the Northwest Territories The premier of the Northwest Territories is the Premier (Canada), first minister and head of government for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories. The premier is the territory's head of government ...

. She is one of three currently serving female premiers in Canada and the second female premier of the Northwest Territories after

Nellie Cournoyea Nellie Cournoyea (born March 4, 1940 in Aklavik, Northwest Territories) is a Canadian politician, who served as the sixth premier of the Northwest Territories from 1991 to 1995. She was the first female premier of a Canadian territory and the sec ...

, who served from 1991 to 1995. She was formerly known as Caroline Cochrane-Johnson.

Life and career

Cochrane was born in

Flin Flon Flin Flon (pop. 5,185 in 2016 census; 4,982 in Manitoba and 203 in Saskatchewan) is a mining city, located on a correction line on the border of the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located within M ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, in 1960 and moved with her family to

Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only city in the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is on the northern shore of Great Slave Lake, about south of the Arctic Circle, on the west side of Yellowknife Bay near the ...

in 1963, where she grew up. She was first elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, or Legislative Council of the Northwest Territories (with Northwest hyphenated as North-West until 1906), is the legislature and the seat of government of Northwest Territories in Canada. It is a uni ...

in the 2015 election, representing the electoral district of

Range Lake Range Lake is a territorial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It is one of seven districts that represent Yellowknife Yellowknife (; Dogrib: ) is the capital, largest community, and only c ...

. Prior to her election to the legislature, Cochrane was CEO of the Centre for Northern Families, a social-service agency administered by the Yellowknife Women's Society in

. In October 2019, Cochrane defeated three other candidates after three rounds of secret-ballot votes and was elected

Premier of the Northwest Territories The premier of the Northwest Territories is the Premier (Canada), first minister and head of government for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian territory of the Northwest Territories. The premier is the territory's head of government ...

References

1960 births Living people Canadian female first ministers Canadian Métis people Members of the Executive Council of the Northwest Territories Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories People from Flin Flon Premiers of the Northwest Territories Women government ministers of Canada Women MLAs in the Northwest Territories 21st-century Canadian women politicians Female heads of government {{NorthwestTerritories-politician-stub