Asger Rye "Red" Pedersen (sometimes Asgar Rye Pederson, born 1935, Denmark) is a former territorial-level Canadian politician. In 1953, he got a job in the

Canadian Arctic Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three territories of Canada: Yukon, Northwest Territories and N ...

with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) at

Cambridge Bay Cambridge Bay (Inuinnaqtun: ''Iqaluktuuttiaq'' Inuktitut: ᐃᖃᓗᒃᑑᑦᑎᐊᖅ; 2021 population 1,760; population centre 1,403) is a hamlet located on Victoria Island in the Kitikmeot Region of Nunavut, Canada. It is the largest settl ...

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

(then the

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

). In the following year, he was sent to Perry River (''Kuugjuak'') to assist

Stephen Angulalik Stephen Angulalik (ca. 1898–1980) was an internationally known Ahiarmiut Inuit from northern Canada notable as a Kitikmeot fur trader and trading post operator at Kuugjuaq ( Perry River), Northwest Territories. His stories and photos were carri ...

, the Ahiarmiut Inuit owner of the trading post, with the financial records, inventory and ordering, as Angulalik spoke no English. In 1957, Angulalik sold the Perry River post to the HBC and Pedersen was appointed manager. Angulalik returned to the post after resolving legal problems and worked alongside Pedersen; they became lifelong friends. He was, at one time, married to Lena Pedersen and their grandson,

Calvin Pedersen Calvin Avigak Pedersen is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in July 2020. Representing the electoral district of Kugluktuk, he was directly acclaimed to office as the only candidate to register by the ...

was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut in July 2020.

Public service

Ten years later, Pedersen became an area administrator for the Canadian government in Coppermine (Kugluktuk), Pangnirtung and

Fort Rae A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

(Behchoko). From 1983 to 1991, he was a member of the Northwest Territories Legislature. Pedersen was first elected to the Northwest Territories Legislature in the

1983 Northwest Territories general election The 1983 Northwest Territories general election was held on November 21, 1983. This was the first election in the Northwest Territories with live television coverage of vote returns. Election Results The election was held in 24 constituencies, up ...

, winning the

Kitikmeot West Kitikmeot (Inuktitut: Qitirmiut ᕿᑎᕐᒥᐅᑦ) can refer to: * Kitikmeot Region, a region of Nunavut, Canada ** Kitikmeot, Unorganized, a census subdivision, consisting of those parts of the Kitikmeot Region outside communities * Kitikmeot R ...

electoral district. He was re-elected in the

1987 Northwest Territories general election File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

. Pedersen was elected

Speaker of the Assembly Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

on November 12, 1987 and served that role until October 18, 1989. In 2001, he was one of three members of the Legislative Assembly of the NWT's "Independent Commission on Members Compensation". Pedersen was a Board Member and Chairperson of the Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency until his retirement in 2003. Pedersen retired from the Canadian Rangers, but his son and grandson continue the tradition. In December 2013, Pedersen was acclaimed as mayor of Kugluktuk.Nunavummiut elect new municipal leaders
/ref> In 2016, Pedersen was made a member of the Order of Nunavut.

References

Partial bibliography

* Pederson, Asgar Rye, and David Repp. anada, Northwest Territories, Coppermine Eskimos, 1965 1965. Sound recording.

External links

Pedersen's early days at Perry River
including recorded interviews in MP3 format. 1935 births Living people Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories People from Kugluktuk People from Pangnirtung People from Behchoko Danish emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Danish descent Mayors of Kugluktuk Members of the Order of Nunavut Members of the Order of Canada {{NorthwestTerritories-politician-stub

Public service

References

Partial bibliography

Further reading

External links