Dennis H. Cochrane, CM (born 26 October 1950 in Moncton,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

) is a

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politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and civil servant. He graduated from the New Brunswick Teacher's College in 1970, received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree from the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Ameri ...

in 1974, received a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order fo ...

in 1974 and a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

in 1981 from the

University of Moncton A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. He was elected to the Moncton City Council in 1977 and he was elected Mayor of Moncton in 1979, being re-elected in 1980. In 1983, he was Councillor-at-Large of Moncton. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada representing the riding of Moncton in the

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

as a Progressive Conservative (PC). He was defeated in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

. He next entered provincial politics and was elected in 1991 as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick. In this role he regained seats for his party in the 1991 election, the PCs having been

shut out Shut Out may refer to: * Shutout, a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring * ''Shut Out'' (album), a 1977 album by Paul Jabara * "Shut Out" (song), a 1977 song by Paul Jabara and Donna Summer * "Shutout", a song by The Walk ...

in the 1987 election. Though his party won only three seats, it gained others later through

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

s and seemed poised to win, at least, official opposition status in the coming election. The opposition

Confederation of Regions Party The Confederation of Regions Party (CoR) was a right-wing politics, right-wing federal list of political parties in Canada, political party in Canada founded in 1984 by Elmer Knutson. It was founded as a successor to the Western Canada Federation ...

was suffering internal strife and a number of its members chose to sit as independents. Cochrane invited them to join the PC caucus; however, they declined and one of the Acadian members quit in protest. As a result, Cochrane resigned the leadership in 1995. Following the victory of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia The Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia (formerly Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia), is a moderate political party in Nova Scotia, Canada. Like most conservative parties in Atlantic Canada, it has been historically as ...

in 1999 election, he was named deputy minister of Education for the neighbouring province of Nova Scotia. He resigned at the end of 2009 when he accepted a position as Interim President and Vice Chancellor of

St. Thomas University (New Brunswick) St. Thomas University (also St. Thomas or STU) is a Catholic, English-language liberal arts university located in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It is a primarily undergraduate university offering bachelor's degrees in the arts (humanities a ...

effective January 2010, replacing outgoing Michael W. Higgins. This appointment continued until 1 July 2011, when he was succeeded by Dawn Russell.

Electoral history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cochrane, Dennis 1950 births Living people University of New Brunswick alumni Canadian schoolteachers 21st-century Canadian civil servants Mayors of Moncton Members of the House of Commons of Canada from New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick MLAs Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Canadian educators Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick