Lawrence "Larry" Ralph Shaben (March 20, 1935 – September 6, 2008) was 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 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 ...

of Lebanese descent and the first Muslim Cabinet Minister in Canada. He was also one of the first Muslims to be elected to higher office in North America. He held a seat 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 sin ...

from 1975 to 1989 sitting with the governing Progressive Conservative Caucus. During his time in office he served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Premier

Peter Lougheed Edgar Peter Lougheed ( ; July 26, 1928 – September 13, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding over a period of reform and economic growth. Bo ...

and

Don Getty Donald Ross Getty (August 30, 1933 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergo ...

occupying various portfolios from 1979 to 1989.

Early life

Lawrence Ralph Shaben was born on March 20, 1935, in Hanna,

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 ...

The family moved to Edmonton in the mid-1940s after North America's first

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

was opened there. Shaben went to Eastwood High School before going on to the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

. He left university early to join the workforce. Shaben married Alma Saddy in 1960 and they had five children by 1966. He moved his family to

High Prairie High Prairie is a town in northern Alberta, Canada within Big Lakes County. It is located at the junction of Highway 2 and Highway 749, approximately northeast of Valleyview and west of Slave Lake. History Describes the nature of the ...

and bought a general store.

Political career

Shaben got his first start in politics by serving on the municipal council for the town of High Prairie. He moved his career to the provincial level when he ran for a seat in the Alberta Legislature in the

1975 Alberta general election The 1975 Alberta general election was held on March 26, 1975, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta to the 18th Alberta Legislature. The election was called on February 14, 1975 prorogued and dissolved of the 17th Alberta Legis ...

. He ran in the electoral district of Lesser Slave Lake as a candidate for the Progressive Conservative party. He won the electoral district defeating incumbent Dennis Barton and a third candidate by a wide margin to pick up the seat for his party. With his win Shaben was the first

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

elected in Alberta and among the first

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

elected to higher political office in North America. Shaben ran for a second term in office in the

1979 Alberta general election The 1979 Alberta general election was held on March 14, 1979, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, which had been expanded to 79 seats. The Progressive Conservative Party of Peter Lougheed won its third consecutive term in g ...

. He faced a tougher race, losing a little bit of his popular vote from the previous election against three other candidates including future MLA Dan Backs. Shaben held his district and was returned to the Legislature. After the election Premier Peter Lougheed appointed Shaben to the

Executive Council of Alberta The Executive Council of Alberta (the Cabinet) is a body of ministers of the Crown in right of Alberta, who along with the lieutenant governor, exercises the powers of the Government of Alberta. Ministers are selected by the premier and typica ...

. He became Minister of Utilities and Telephones. His appointment would make him the first Muslim cabinet minister in Canada. He would run for a third term in office in the 1982 general election with ministerial advantage. Shaben would easily hold his district defeating the four other candidates with a much larger popular vote and margin of victory. Lougheed shuffled his cabinet after the election. Shaben became the Minister of Housing. In 1984, Shaben survived a plane crash near

that killed fellow MLA and Alberta NDP leader

Grant Notley Walter Grant Notley (January 19, 1939 – October 19, 1984) was a Canadian politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1971 to 1984 and also served as leader of the Alberta NDP from 1968 to 1984. Early life Notl ...

and five other passengers. He held that portfolio after

became Premier in 1985. Shaben would run a fourth term in office in the 1986 general election. He would face a hotly contested fight against New Democrat candidate Bert Dube. Despite his popular vote dropping Shaben was able to hang onto his seat. Getty made his first cabinet shuffle after the election and appointed Shaben to his final portfolio as Minister of Economic Development and Trade. He held that portfolio until he retired at dissolution of the Assembly in 1989.

Late life

Shaben was severely beaten by a hitchhiker and wound up hospitalized in 1986. Following 9/11, Shaben became active in promoting greater tolerance and understanding of Muslims in Canada. He was later instrumental in establishing the Edmonton Islamic Academy and a Chair In Islamic Studies at the University of Alberta. In 2005 he was appointed a federal citizenship judge. Shaben died on September 6, 2008, following a long bout with cancer. His funeral was attended by more than 1,000 people and numerous politicians including three provincial Premiers.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaben, Larry 1935 births 2008 deaths Canadian Muslims Deaths from cancer in Alberta Members of the Executive Council of Alberta People from Hanna, Alberta Politicians from Edmonton Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Survivors of aviation accidents or incidents University of Alberta alumni 20th-century Canadian politicians Canadian citizenship judges Canadian people of Lebanese descent

Early life

Political career

Late life

See also

References

External links