George M. Mihalcheon (

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

: George Mihălcean October 1, 1893 – October 2, 1956) was 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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. 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 singl ...

from 1926 to 1930 as a member of the United Farmers caucus in government.

Early life

Mihalcheon was born in 1893 in Boian,

Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...

, a village which is now in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. He moved to Alberta with his family in 1901 to the town of Hairy Hill. He graduated normal school in 1918 and became a teacher in the town of Boian, Alberta. He married Mary Lutzak."Romanian Immigration". Alberta Community Heritage Foundation. Retrieved June 30, 2010.

Political career

Mihalcheon put his name forward to contest the nomination as the United Farmers candidate in the electoral district of Whitford in advance of the 1926 provincial election. He defeated the sitting United Farmers MLA Mike Chornohus and two other contenders to be named the party's candidate in the

1926 Alberta general election The 1926 Alberta general election was held on June 28, 1926, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The United Farmers of Alberta government that had first been elected in 1921 was re-elected, taking a majority of the seats in t ...

. in the

Mihalcheon and four other candidates ran in Whitford. Mihalcheon won a majority of the district's popular vote on the first count so was quickly elected, holding the district for his party. Among the candidates he defeated was former Liberal MLA

Andrew Shandro Andrew Shandro (born May 20, 1971) is a professional mountain biker. Shandro has starred in many films and featured in mountain bike magazines worldwide. The majority of Shandro's pictures are taken by his close friend Sterling Lorence. Andrew was ...

, who finished second. Michalcheon was the first Alberta MLA of Romanian origin. His ability to speak English, Ukrainian, and Romanian was credited with helping him win the election. Mihalcheon retired from the Assembly at dissolution in 1930, when the Whitford UFA association asked him to step down fearing that his Romanian heritage might cause the party to lose the district. Under his replacement,

Isidore Goresky Isidore Goresky (November 11, 1902 – February 22, 1999) was a farm labourer, teacher and provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1930 to 1935 sitting with the United Farmers ...

, the UFA did retain the seat.

Late life

After his political career, Mihalcheon started farming. He also founded a general store.

References

External links

*
Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members ListingFounding Members
The Canadian Romanian Society Of Alberta {{DEFAULTSORT:Mihalcheon, George 1893 births 1956 deaths United Farmers of Alberta MLAs Austro-Hungarian emigrants to Canada Romanian emigrants to Canada Romanian Austro-Hungarians People from the Duchy of Bukovina