The premier of Yukon is the

first minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...

and

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

for the Canadian territory of

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 ...

. The post is the territory's

, although its powers are considerably more limited than that of a provincial premier. The office was established in 1978 when most authority was devolved from the appointed commissioner to the leader of the party that had the confidence of the

Yukon Legislative Assembly The Yukon Legislative Assembly (french: Assemblée législative du Yukon) is the legislative assembly for Yukon, Canada. Unique among Canada's three territories, the Yukon Legislative Assembly is the only territorial legislature which is organiz ...

; for the year immediately prior to this, that leader was one of the members serving with the commissioner's Executive Committee (a Cabinet). From the first conventional legislative elections in 1978 to 1989, the term "government leader" was used.

Tony Penikett Antony David John "Tony" Penikett (born November 14, 1945) is a mediator and negotiator and former politician in Yukon, Canada, who served as the third premier of Yukon from 1985 to 1992. Early life and political activity Born in Sussex, Engl ...

chose to change the title to premier for his 1989 to 1992 term amid some controversy. His successor,

John Ostashek John Ostashek (May 10, 1936 – June 10, 2007) was a Yukon politician. An entrepreneur, he was elected leader of the Yukon Party in June 1992 and led it to victory in the fall 1992 election in which he also won a seat in the legislature for the ...

, returned to using government leader, as did Ostashek's successor Piers McDonald. McDonald's successor

Pat Duncan Pat Duncan (born April 8, 1960) is a Canadian politician from Yukon. Duncan served as leader of the Yukon Liberal Party from 1998 to 2005 and as the sixth premier of Yukon from 2000 until 2002. Duncan was the first Liberal premier of the Yukon ...

made the decision to use the title premier upon taking office in 2000 and the title has since remained unchanged. Following the

2016 Yukon general election The 2016 general election in Yukon, Canada, took place on November 7, 2016, to return members to the 34th Yukon legislative assembly. The election was fought over issues relating to the economy, the environment, First Nations reconciliation, frack ...

, the current premier of Yukon is

Sandy Silver Sidney Alexander "Sandy" Silver (born October 15, 1969) is a Canadian politician, the ninth and current premier of Yukon since 2016. He was first elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the 2011 election, and was re-elected in 2016. He rep ...

, leader of the

Yukon Liberal Party The Yukon Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral du Yukon) is a political party in the territory of Yukon, Canada. The party is not organizationally linked to the federal Liberal Party of Canada in any official manner. Sandy Silver, MLA for Klond ...

. Silver was formally sworn in as premier on December 3, 2016. He took on a second term after the 2021 election, leading a minority government.

References

External links

* * {{Canada-poli-stub

See also

References

External links