George J. Furey (born May 12, 1948) is a Canadian politician who has served as the

speaker of the Senate of Canada The speaker of the Senate of Canada (french: président du Sénat du Canada) is the presiding officer of the Senate of Canada. The speaker represents the Senate at official functions, rules on questions of parliamentary procedure and parliament ...

since December 3, 2015. Furey was appointed as a senator from

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...

in 1999 and is the longest-serving member of the Senate.

Background

Furey earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a Bachelor of Education Degree from

Memorial University Memorial University of Newfoundland, also known as Memorial University or MUN (), is a public university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook, elsewhere in Newfoundland and i ...

in 1970. He also completed a Master of Education Degree from Memorial in 1976. After graduating, he worked as a teacher for the Roman Catholic School Board in St. John's from 1969 to 1972. From 1972 to 1978, Furey was a supervising vice principal with the Port-au-Port Roman Catholic School Board, and from 1978 to 1980 supervising principal of the Placentia-St. Mary's Roman Catholic School Board. After a career in education, he went on to earn a law degree from Dalhousie University in 1983. He was called to the Newfoundland Bar in 1984. Furey was later named a partner at the St. John's law firm of O'Brien, Furey & Hurley. By 1989, he was a senior partner at the law firm of O'Brien, Furey & Smith. He was appointed as Queen's Counsel in 1996. Furey volunteers for volunteer groups, professional boards, and provincial commissions, including the Newfoundland Teachers' Association, Scouts Canada, the St. Clare's Mercy Hospital Ethics Committee, the Gonzaga High School Council, and the Provincial Police Complaints Commission. In 2020, Furey's son

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

announced his candidacy for leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador and was elected leader in August 2020, becoming the 14th

Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador The premier of Newfoundland and Labrador is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Since 1949, the premier's duties and office has been the successor to the ministerial position of the pri ...

Political career

Furey was named to the Senate of Canada by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien on August 11, 1999. As a senator, he has been a member of several Senate committees and has served as Chair of the Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration and the Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. On January 29, 2014,

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

leader

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

announced that the party's caucus in the Senate would be dissolved. Some former Liberals, including Furey, would maintain a caucus, styled the

Senate Liberal Caucus The Senate Liberal Caucus (french: Caucus libéral du Sénat), also known as the Senate Liberals (french: libéraux au Sénat), was, from 2014 to 2019, a parliamentary grouping in the Senate of Canada made up of independent senators who were ind ...

, but with no formal affiliation with the main Liberal Party. Following the retirement of David Tkachuk on , he is the longest-serving member of the Senate.

Speaker of the Senate

On December 3, 2015, Furey was appointed Speaker of the Senate by Prime Minister

replacing Senator

Leo Housakos Leonidas Housakos (born January 10, 1968) is a Canadian politician who has served as the senator for Wellington, Quebec since January 8, 2009. A member of the Conservative Party, Housakos was appointed on the advice of Prime Minister Stephen ...

. He resigned from the Senate Liberal Caucus upon assuming the speaker's chair. As Speaker, Furey presides over a period of Senate reform. In his opening address, he highlighted a need for the Senate to reinvent itself and to fulfil its role, as intended by the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

, as an independent institution "of sober second thought".https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/furey-housakos-demers-senate-speaker-1.3348769

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furey, George J. 1948 births Canadian King's Counsel Speakers of the Senate of Canada Canadian senators from Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Party of Canada senators Living people Independent Canadian senators Politicians from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador Schulich School of Law alumni 21st-century Canadian politicians