Norman M. Betts (born April 1, 1954 in

Doaktown, New Brunswick Doaktown (2016 population: 792) is a Canadian village in Northumberland County, New Brunswick. History Situated on the Southwest Miramichi River and first settled in 1807 as a base for the growing lumber industry in central New Brunswick, Uni ...

) is a Chartered Accountant, university professor, and former provincial

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, a ...

. Norman Betts graduated from the

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

(UNB) in 1978 with a

Bachelor of Business Administration Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) is a bachelor's degree in business administration awarded by colleges and universities after completion of undergraduate study in the fundamentals of business administration and usually including advanced ...

degree and went to work for a firm of chartered accountants in

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

with whom he remained associated until 1988. In 1991, he obtained a PhD in Management (accounting and finance) from Queen's University in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toro ...

. The following year joined the Faculty of Business Administration at the University of New Brunswick as an

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. Overview In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a ...

where he held various responsibilities including Assistant Dean of the

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

program. In 1997, Norman Betts was an unsuccessful candidate for the leadership of the

Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right, conservative political party in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The party has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granti ...

in a contest won by

Bernard Lord Bernard Lord (born September 27, 1965) is a Canadian lawyer, business executive and former politician. He served as the 30th premier of New Brunswick from 1999 to 2006. Lord was appointed as board chair of Ontario Power Generation in 2014. Early ...

. The Party was voted in power in the

1999 New Brunswick general election The 1999 New Brunswick general election was held on June 7, 1999, to elect 55 members to the 54th New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, the governing house of the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Campaign The election marked the debut of both C ...

and Betts won a seat in the

Southwest Miramichi Southwest Miramichi-Bay du Vin (french: Miramichi-Sud-Ouest-Baie-du-Vin) is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, Canada. It was created as Southwest Miramichi in 1973, by which name it was known until 20 ...

riding and was immediately appointed

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

. Betts held the position until October 9, 2001 when he was made the Minister of Business New Brunswick. In the June 9, 2003 New Brunswick general election, Norman Betts lost his seat to

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate,

Rick Brewer Rick Brewer (born in Stanley, New Brunswick) is a New Brunswick businessman and politician, and a former assistant pastor. Early life Brewer was the son of Richard C. Brewer and Emma Hanson. He was an assistant pastor in the Pentecostal Churc ...

. Betts then returned to his teaching job at the University of New Brunswick. He has served on the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of several companies including Tembec Inc. and on the board of the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Natu ...

for the

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...

region. In 2005, he was appointed to the Advisory Committee of the Atlantic Canada Chapter of the

Institute of Corporate Directors Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) is primarily an institute of, for and by corporate directors established in the Philippines. It is made up mainly of individuals and reputational agents committed to the professional practice of corporate dire ...

. Norman Betts was appointed to the board of directors of the

Bank of Canada The Bank of Canada (BoC; french: Banque du Canada) is a Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surveys: Ca ...

in June 2014.

References

Norman M. Betts profile at the University of New Brunswick

Norman M. Betts profile at the Bank of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Norman 1954 births University of New Brunswick alumni Queen's University at Kingston alumni Canadian accountants Canadian educators Academic staff of the University of New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick MLAs Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick People from Northumberland County, New Brunswick Canadian people of English descent Living people 21st-century Canadian politicians Finance ministers of New Brunswick