George Johnson Clarke (October 10, 1857 – February 26, 1917) was a

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) 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. It is the only province with both English and ...

lawyer, journalist and politician. A native of St. Andrews, New Brunswick, George Clarke taught school for a time in Charlotte County before studying law. He was called to the bar in 1885 and set up practice in

St. Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

. He was also

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of the ''

Saint Croix Courier The ''Saint Croix Courier'' is a weekly newspaper published Tuesdays by the St. Croix Printing & Publishing Company, Limited in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada. It was founded by David Main in October 1865. On the St. Croix River, the newspap ...

'' newspaper in St. Stephen. In 1907, he was named

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

. In 1891, Clarke was an unsuccessful candidate in the Charlotte riding for a seat in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

. He served as mayor of St. Stephen from 1898 to 1899 and was Warden of Charlotte County. He was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

for Charlotte County in 1903 and served as

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is the presiding officer of the provincial legislature. Since 1994 the position has been elected by MLAs using a secret ballot. Previously, the Speaker had been appointed by motion of the hou ...

from 1909 to 1914. On January 22, 1914 Clarke was appointed by Premier James K. Flemming to the province's Executive Council as

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and Commissioner of Provincial Hospitals. He served until December 17 of that year when he was appointed

Minister of Lands and Mines Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

, a position he held until February 1, 1917. Highly regarded for his integrity, George Clarke became the 15th

premier of New Brunswick The premier of New Brunswick ( French (masculine): ''premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'', or feminine: ''première ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The ...

in March 1914 when his predecessor,

James Kidd Flemming James Kidd Flemming (April 27, 1868 – February 10, 1927) was a businessman and politician in New Brunswick, Canada. Flemming was a school teacher and lumberman before entering politics and serving as Provincial Secretary-Treasurer from 190 ...

, was forced to resign as a result of a scandal. In addition to his responsibilities as Premier, Clarke also served as the

during his entire administration. George Clarke was in very poor health during his time in office and his administration's accomplishments were limited. Because of the health problems, he stepped down as premier on February 1, 1917, handing over the reins of power to

James Alexander Murray James Alexander Murray (9 November 1864 in Moncton, New Brunswick – 16 February 1960) was a Conservative politician and the 16th premier of New Brunswick. Murray was first elected to the legislature in 1908 and served as Minister of Agricultur ...

just before the general election. Clarke had been selected for appointment as the province's

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

but was not able to accept the post due to poor health. Clarke died at home in St. Stephen a few weeks later.

References

Government of New Brunswick biography
(pdf)

References

Further reading