Ted Nebbeling (1944 – October 28, 2009) was a

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Legislative Assembly Member and

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In o ...

for the Community Charter from 2001 to 2004.

Marriage

He married Jan Holmberg, his partner of 32 years, on November 15, 2003, in one of the world's first same-sex weddings of a serving cabinet minister. The day after his marriage was announced in the media, Nebbeling was dropped from cabinet in a shuffle. The government stated that the timing was coincidental and that there was no prejudicial motive behind this, as Nebbeling was openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

at the time of his election. Nebbeling and Holmberg were both

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

s to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, Nebbeling from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and Holmberg from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. Nebbeling came to Canada in 1977 and became a Canadian citizen in 1980.

Earlier years

Before becoming an MLA in 1996, Nebbeling was mayor and

city councillor A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...

Whistler, British Columbia Whistler ( Lillooet/Ucwalmícwts: Cwitima, ; Squamish/Sḵwx̱wú7mesh: Sḵwiḵw, ) is a resort municipality in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mounta ...

. In January 2005, Nebbeling announced that he would not seek re-election to the Legislative Assembly.

Death

Ted Nebbeling died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

on October 28, 2009, aged 65.Former B.C. cabinet minister who married same-sex partner dies of cancer
''

The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; french: La Presse canadienne, ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for the time's Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Pre ...

'', October 29, 2009.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly Biography
1944 births 2009 deaths British Columbia Liberal Party MLAs Deaths from cancer in British Columbia Date of birth missing Deaths from colorectal cancer Dutch emigrants to Canada Gay politicians LGBT mayors of places in Canada Canadian LGBT people in provincial and territorial legislatures Mayors of places in British Columbia 21st-century Canadian politicians 20th-century LGBT people {{BritishColumbia-mayor-stub