Murray James Koskie (November 5, 1929 – March 14, 2004) was an educator, lawyer and political figure in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. He represented

Quill Lakes The Quill Lakes is a wetland complex in Saskatchewan, Canada that encompasses the endorheic basin of three distinct lake wetlands: Big Quill Lake, Middle Quill Lake, and Little Quill Lake. On May 27, 1987, it was designated a wetland of inte ...

from 1975 to 1995 in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as a

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

(NDP) member. He was born in Sinnet, Saskatchewan, the son of Frank Koskie, was raised on the family farm and was educated in Humboldt and at the

University of Saskatchewan 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 ...

, where he received a BEd and

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the China, People's Republic ...

. Koskie taught school, was a school principal and practised law in Humboldt, Regina and the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

. He ran unsuccessfully in the provincial riding of

Regina South West Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * Re ...

before being elected in 1975. Koskie served in the Saskatchewan cabinet as Minister of Social Services, as Minister of Consumer Affairs, as Minister of Consumer and Commercial Affairs and as Minister of Highways and Transportation. From 1982 to 1991, he served as opposition

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

. He resigned from cabinet in 1993 and resigned his seat in 1995 after he was convicted of fraud related to the misuse of his MLA communications allowance. After leaving politics, Koskie lived in

Muenster Muenster may refer to: * Münster, Germany * Muenster, Saskatchewan * Muenster, Texas * Muenster cheese Muenster ( or ) or munster is a semi-soft cheese from the United States. It is thought to be an imitation of the Alsatian washed-rind Muns ...

until his death in Humboldt at the age of 74.

References

Saskatchewan New Democratic Party MLAs 1929 births 2004 deaths {{Saskatchewan-politician-stub