Ronald Stanley Thornton Russell (22 July 1926 – 7 March 2019) was a Canadian politician and pilot who lived in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Early life and education

Russell was born in

Ngongotahā Ngongotahā is a town on the western shores of Lake Rotorua in New Zealand's North Island. It is 10 kilometers northwest of Rotorua city, and is part of the Rotorua metropolitan area. Its population was as of Its name is derived from a legend ...

, New Zealand. He was a pilot for the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and later joined the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

. Russell was educated at the

Ryerson Institute of Technology Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

and Queen's University. He retired from the RCAF in 1973, and then worked several years as the Manager of

Halifax International Airport Halifax Stanfield International Airport is a Canadian airport in Goffs, Nova Scotia, a rural community of the Halifax Regional Municipality. It serves the Halifax region, mainland Nova Scotia, and adjacent areas in the neighbouring Maritime pr ...

Political career

Russell served five years on the municipal council for

West Hants West Hants, officially named the West Hants Regional Municipality, is a regional municipality in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It occupies the western half of Hants County, running from the Minas Basin to the boundary with Halifax Count ...

before entering provincial politics. He was first elected to the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

in the 1978 general election and was re-elected in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, and

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

; holding the seat until his retirement in 2006. Russell was

Speaker of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia The Speaker for the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia is the presiding Officer of the House of Assembly. Keith Bain is the current Speaker of the 64th General Assembly of Nova Scotia. The Speaker presides over the proceedings of the Assembly, maint ...

on three occasions, from 1978 to 1980, from 1991 to 1993 and again from 1998 until 1999. He was the first Speaker to be elected by his peers rather than be appointed by the Premier. He served in the

Executive Council of Nova Scotia The Executive Council of Nova Scotia (informally and more commonly, the Cabinet of Nova Scotia) is the cabinet of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Almost always made up of members of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, the Cabinet is sim ...

holding various portfolios under four different

Premiers Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

. He was Minister of Consumer Affairs from 1980 to 1981, of Health from 1985 to 1987, and was Solicitor General from 1987 to 1989 under Premier John Buchanan. He was Labour Minister from 1989 to 1991 under

Roger Stuart Bacon Roger Stuart Bacon (June 29, 1926 – October 4, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 21st premier of Nova Scotia from 1990 to 1991. Political career He was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1970 as a Progres ...

Personal life

Russell married Anna Isfeld. Russell died on 7 March 2019, at the age of 92.

References

Entry from Canadian Who's Who
{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Ron 1926 births 2019 deaths Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs Speakers of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly Members of the Executive Council of Nova Scotia People from Ngongotaha New Zealand emigrants to Canada Deputy premiers of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia municipal councillors 21st-century Canadian politicians