Richard Spink Bowles

Richard Spink Bowles (November 16, 1912 – July 9, 1988) was a Canadian lawyer and office holder in

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, Canada. He served as the province's

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

Lieutenant Governor from 1965 to 1970. Bowles had no political experience prior to his appointment as Lt. Governor, and was only the second non-political appointee to the position (

James Duncan McGregor James Duncan McGregor (August 29, 1860 – March 15, 1935) was a Canadian agricultural pioneer and officeholder. He served as the 11th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba between 1929 and 1934. McGregor was born in Amherstburg, Canada West (no ...

was the first, although McGregor had previously worked for the federal government in a non-partisan capacity). Bowles was born in

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, ...

, Manitoba, and 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.Manitoba Law School The Robson Hall Faculty of Law is the law school of the University of Manitoba (U of M) located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is on the university's Fort Garry, Winnipeg, Fort Garry campus. History In 1914, Hugh Robson (politician), Hugh A ...

. He practiced law from 1937 to 1965, starting his own firm in 1940. He became the first President of Winnipeg's Home and School Association in 1952, and was Chairman of the Winnipeg Board of Parks and Recreation in 1956-57. He was named President of the

Manitoba Bar Association The Manitoba Bar Association (MBA) is an organization of members of the legal profession in Manitoba, Canada. It is a non-profit professional association, and is a branch of the Canadian Bar Association. As of 2021, the MBA represents approximatel ...

in 1961, and also served as President of the

Law Society of Manitoba The Law Society of Manitoba (LSM) is the self-governing regulatory body of the legal profession in Manitoba, Canada. Membership in the LSM is required in order to practice law in the province. , the LSM had 2072 members with active practising s ...

in 1964-65. His appointment as Lt. Governor came in recognition of his legal and community work. The position was primarily ceremonial by this time. Bowles might have been entrusted with determining Manitoba's government after the inclusive 1969 election, but the defection of

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 ...

MLA

Laurent Desjardins Laurent Louis "Larry" Desjardins (March 15, 1923 – February 7, 2012) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a member of the Manitoba legislature for most of the period from 1959 to 1988, and was a cabinet minister under New Democ ...

to the New Democratic Party made this unnecessary. Bowles returned to private law practice after his term in office ended. In 1969, he presented an essay on

Adams George Archibald Sir Riley Robert Archibald , more commonly known as Sir Adams George Archibald (May 3, 1814 – December 14, 1892) was a Canadian lawyer and politician, and a Father of Confederation. He was based in Nova Scotia for most of his career, though ...

(the first Lt. Governor of

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

) to the

Manitoba Historical Society The Manitoba Historical Society is a historical society in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It was created in 1879 by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitob ...

. He later served as Chancellor of 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.House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

as a

, in the rural riding of Lisgar. Due to the prestige of his former office, there was widespread speculation that he would be appointed to the cabinet of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Pierre Trudeau if elected. As it happened, however, he lost to Progressive Conservative

Jack Murta Jack Burnett Murta, (born May 13, 1943) is a former Canadian politician. Born in Carman, Manitoba, the son of John James Murta and Jean (Burnett) Murta, he graduated from the Diploma course in Agriculture at the University of Manitoba in 1964. ...

by 17253 votes to 4469, and did not return to political life thereafter. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowles, Richard Spink 1912 births 1988 deaths Lawyers in Manitoba Canadian university and college chancellors Candidates in the 1972 Canadian federal election Lieutenant Governors of Manitoba People from Winnipeg Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons