Herbert Henry Wright (October 2, 1880—September 21, 1944) was a 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 served in the

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gener ...

from 1936 to 1941. Wright was born in Eugenia Falls,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, and was educated in Emerson, Manitoba and at Wesley College in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. He worked as a customs broker. Wright also saw action in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, serving with the 29th Battalion of the C.E.F. from 1914 to 1919 as a machine-gunner. He first ran for the Manitoba legislature in the 1927 provincial election as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate in Emerson. He finished second to

Progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

candidate Robert Curran, losing by 139 votes. Wright later aligned himself with a group of Liberals who opposed the party's 1932 alliance (and subsequent merger) with the Progressives. He campaigned in the 1936 provincial election as a Liberal Independent, and defeated Curran by twenty votes. Only one other Liberal Independent was elected, and Wright served on the opposition benches for the next four years. In 1940, Wright endorsed the all-party

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

created by Liberal-Progressive

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

John Bracken John Bracken (June 22, 1883 – March 18, 1969) was a Canadian agronomist and politician who was the 11th and longest-serving premier of Manitoba (1922–1943) and later the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (1942–19 ...

. He campaigned for re-election in the 1941 election as an official Liberal-Progressive candidate, but lost to pro-coalition independent John Solomon by 701 votes. Wright died in the Winnipeg General Hospital at the age of 63.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Herbert 1880 births 1944 deaths Manitoba Liberal Party MLAs People from Emerson, Manitoba Customs brokers