William Griesinger (June 20, 1895 – April 16, 1978) was a politician in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

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. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA, french: Assemblée législative de l'Ontario) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by ...

from 1945 to 1959 who represented the southwestern riding of

Windsor—Sandwich Windsor—Sandwich was an electoral riding in Ontario, Canada. It was created in 1934 and was abolished with the 1967 election as a result of redistribution. The area was restructured as Windsor West from 1967 to 1975, during which time it was r ...

. He was a cabinet minister in the governments of George Drew, Thomas Kennedy and

Leslie Frost Leslie Miscampbell Frost (September 20, 1895 – May 4, 1973) was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the province's 16th premier from May 4, 1949, to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man O ...

Background

He was born in

Windsor, Ontario Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...

, the son of Lewis Griesinger. In 1934, he married Mary Adele Allen, with whom he raised daughter Rosemary and adopted son William. He was owner and general manager of the Windsor Lumber Company. Griesinger served with the

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during

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, reaching the rank of major, and was awarded the Military Cross at the Battle of Vimy Ridge. After the war, he continued to serve with the local militia and was made commander

The Essex and Kent Scottish The Essex and Kent Scottish is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army. The regiment was formed in 1954 by the amalgamation of The Essex Scottish Regiment and The Kent Regiment. Its colonel-in-chief is Prince Michael of Kent. ...

with the lieutenant-colonel. During World War II he was an area commandant and after the war continued to serve as honorary commander until 1971.

Politics

Griesinger was elected in the 1945 provincial election, in the riding of

. He defeated CCF incumbent George Bennett by 3,042 votes. He was re-elected three times until he was defeated by

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 ...

Maurice Bélanger in 1959. He served in the provincial cabinets of George Drew, Thomas Kennedy as a

Minister Without Portfolio A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet w ...

. He served as Chief Commissioner of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario from 1948 to 1949. In 1949,

appointed him as Minister of Planning and Development. In 1953 he was appointed as Minister of Public Works. As minister of Public Works he directed the commencement of construction of

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian provin ...

at the western end. He resigned from the provincial cabinet in 1958 after he was implicated in a stock trading scandal involving

Northern Ontario Natural Gas Northern Ontario Natural Gas was a natural gas company in Canada in the 1950s and 1960s, which was involved in a stock trading scandal that implicated Supreme Court of Ontario judge Leo Landreville, three Central Ontario mayors, and three members ...

, a natural gas company. Specifically,

Premier 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 ...

had ordered all members of his Cabinet to divest themselves of shares in the company but Griesinger did not do so. Later, Premier Frost described Griesinger's involvement in the matter as a "minor indiscretion".

Cabinet posts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griesinger, William 1895 births 1978 deaths Members of the Executive Council of Ontario Politicians from Windsor, Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs