Alfred Herman "Al" Duerr (born January 29, 1951) is a Canadian former Canadian politician who served as the 34th Mayor of Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

from 1989 to 2001, and a city alderman from 1983 to 1989.

Education

Duerr attended the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

and graduated with a degree in Urban Geography and Regional Urban Development and holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from

Haskayne School of Business The Haskayne School of Business is the University of Calgary's business school, located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is named after Richard F. Haskayne, who gave one of the largest endowments to a business school in Canada. The school offers ...

at the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

Political career

Duerr was first elected as an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members t ...

for Ward 9 on

Calgary City Council The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 202 ...

in 1983, and was re-elected in 1986. Incumbent Mayor

Ralph Klein Ralph Philip Klein (November 1, 1942 – March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as the 12th premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 20 ...

would resign in the months before the 1989 municipal election to purse provincial office, and Al Duerr would contest and win the Mayor's seat in the 1989 election. Duerr would go on to be re-elected as Mayor three more times in 1992, 1995, and 1998 before deciding not to contest the 2001, which was won by former Alderman

Dave Bronconnier David Thomas Bronconnier (born October 7, 1962) is a Canadian politician who served as the 35th Mayor of Calgary, Alberta. Personal life A fourth-generation Calgarian (his great grandmother was born in Calgary in 1895), he grew up in the south ...

. Al Duerr's time as mayor coincided with significant spending cuts by the federal government and austerity policies by Ralph Klein's provincial government. Provincial austerity would result in significant reduction in grant funding for municipalities which in turn resulted in lower capital spending and public construction projects in Calgary. In 1991, Al Duerr would proclaim gay pride week in Calgary, however he would deny future proclamations due to public pressure. During his four terms, Duerr was considered one of the most popular mayors in the city's history. His conciliatory, managerial style and likeable personality made him well respected. Duerr was given the nickname of "Mr. Beige" by local media columnists, and in the 1998 election would be challenged by local political columnist Rick Bell, although Bell's candidacy was not a serious attempt to contest the mayor's office. In 1997 while serving as Mayor, Duerr played the character of Mayor Wilkins in an episode of the television show

Viper The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs tha ...

Later life

He is the Chief Executive Officer of Emergo Projects International, and serves on the board of directors for two other companies in Calgary. He is a member of the Community and Partners Advisory Committee of the

Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta The 'Libin Cardiovascular Institute'' is an entity of Alberta Health Services and the University of Calgary. It connects all cardiovascular research, education and clinical care in Southern Alberta. The Institute coordinates the activities of o ...

. In 2014, Duerr was appointed Chair of the independent Calgary Ward Boundary Commission to examine the boundaries of Calgary City Council wards in time for the

2017 Calgary municipal election The 2017 Calgary municipal election was held on October 16, 2017, to elect a mayor, councillors to the city council, trustees to the Calgary Board of Education, and trustees to the Calgary Catholic School District. From 1968 to 2013, provinci ...

. The Commission recommended against increasing the number of councillors for the City and instead recommended creating satellite offices for larger constituencies and increasing the budget of councillor's office.

Personal life

Duerr is married to Kit Chan, and has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duerr, Al Mayors of Calgary Canadian people of German descent People from Humboldt, Saskatchewan Living people 1951 births Calgary city councillors 20th-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian politicians