Philip Markus Petursson (October 21, 1902 in Pinecreek,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
– May 12, 1988) was a
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 ...
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 ...
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 1966 to 1977, and briefly served as a
cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...
in the government of Edward Schreyer.
The son of Olafar Petursson, he moved to
Foam Lake, Saskatchewan
Foam Lake is a town in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. It had a population of 1,123 in 2006.
It is located in a mixed agricultural area approximately 220 km south-east of Saskatoon on the Yellowhead Highway. Foam Lake, the lake for ...
with his family during his first year of life and then moved to Winnipeg nine years later. He was educated 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. the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
, the
Meadville Theological School
The Meadville Lombard Theological School is a Unitarian Universalist seminary in Chicago, Illinois.
History
Meadville Lombard is a result of a merger in the 1930s between two institutions, a Unitarian seminary and a Universalist seminary.
M ...
University of Iceland
The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...
so as to be able to conduct services in that language. He also served on the Winnipeg School Board from 1942 to 1951, and was a member of the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Winnipeg Municipal Hospital Commission, and the Welfare Council of Winnipeg. He married Thorey Gislason in 1926. In 1953, Petursson gained attention in Winnipeg's religious community for speaking out against the concept of
hell
In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...
.
He ran for the
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The House of Common ...
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 ...
Robert James Wood
Robert James Wood (27 March 1886 – 8 August 1954) was a Liberal Party of Canada, Liberal party member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Teulon, Manitoba and became a merchant by career.
He was elected at Norquay (electoral d ...
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 ...
riding of
Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
. In 1968–69, he supported Edward Schreyer to replace Russell Paulley as leader of the provincial NDP. He was re-elected by an increased margin in the 1969 election, in which the NDP formed a
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
under Schreyer.
On July 17, 1969, Petursson was named
Minister of Cultural Affairs
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
. It was always intended that he would return to the backbenches after a brief period in office, and he was indeed dropped from cabinet on November 4, 1970. Petursson remained an active parliamentarian, and was re-elected in the election of 1973. He did not seek re-election in 1977.
He died in Winnipeg at the age of 85.