Gerald Hawranik is a lawyer and former politician in
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 ...
, Canada. He was a member of the Manitoba legislature from 2002 to 2011.
Hawranik studied at the
University of Manitoba
The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.food bank in Canada in the region. Hawranik is also the founder of ''Beauserve Homes, Inc.'', a learning facility for mentally challenged adults.
In 1993, he was named
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
.
Hawranik was first elected to the legislature in a 2002 by-election in the riding of Lac du Bonnet (following the resignation of
Darren Praznik
Darren Thomas Praznik (born May 9, 1961) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He was a cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative government of Gary Filmon, and considered running for the party's leadership in 2000.
Praznik was born in S ...
New Democrat
New Democrats, also known as centrist Democrats, Clinton Democrats, or moderate Democrats, are a centrist ideological faction within the Democratic Party in the United States. As the Third Way faction of the party, they are seen as culturall ...
Michael Hameluck by 3398 votes to 3234. He defeated Hameluck again by a slightly wider margin in the provincial election of 2003.
Hawranik maintains a personal web page, through which he has outlined his views on a variety of issues. He has spoken out in favour of reforming Canada's legal system, particularly in light of efforts by the Hells Angels to hire high-priced lawyers at public expense.
He was re-elected in the 2007 provincial election.
In February 2011, Hawranik announced that he would not run for reelection to the assembly later that year. Later in 2011, he moved to Alberta to join his wife who had been serving as dean of the faculty of graduate studies at
Athabasca University
Athabasca University (AU) is a Canadian public research university that primarily operates through online distance education. Founded in 1970, it is one of four comprehensive academic and research universities in Alberta, and was the first ...
for the previous two years. Also in 2011, he was named to the Parole Board of Canada. In July 2013, he was named chair and CEO of the Alberta Surface Rights and Land Compensation Board.