Frank Edward Oberle Jr. (born October 27, 1957) is a Canadian politician who was a member of the
Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. Since 2012 the Legislative Assembly has had 87 members, elected first past the post f ...
representing the provincial constituency of
Peace River as a
Progressive Conservative, from 2004 to 2015.
Early life
Oberle was born in
Ashcroft, British Columbia
Ashcroft is a village municipality that straddles the Thompson River in the Thompson Country region of south central British Columbia, Canada. East of British Columbia Highway 1, BC Highway 1 and on British Columbia Highway 97C, BC Highway 97C, t ...
. He studied forest resource technology at the
College of New Caledonia
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...
in
Prince George in 1980. In 1988, he obtained a bachelor of science in forestry from the
University of New Brunswick
The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...
. Oberle won the Governor General's Award (gold medal) in forestry, the highest university achievement in 1988.
Oberle worked for Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd. from 1988 until his election in 2004, first as a management forester and, subsequently, as senior forestry advisor. He is a registered professional forester (RPF) with the College of Professional Foresters (CAPF).
Oberle's father,
Frank Oberle Sr., served as the Member of Parliament for
Prince George—Peace River from 1972 to 1993. Frank Oberle Sr. served as the Minister of State for Science and Technology and, later, the Minister of Forestry under
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
Political career
Oberle was first elected as MLA for
Peace River in the
2004 provincial election with 55 per cent of the vote. During his first term, he served as a member of the Agenda and Priorities Committee, the Standing Committee on Resources and Environment, the Cabinet Policy Committee on Resources and the Environment, and the Energy Council. Oberle also served as chief government whip and deputy chair of the Members Services Committee prior to his appointment to cabinet.
Oberle was elected to a second term representing the constituency of Peace River in the
2008 provincial election, receiving 65 per cent of the vote. He served as chief government whip. Oberle also served as the deputy chair of the Special Standing Committee on Members Services and was a member of the Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing Committee. He was Solicitor General and Minister of Public Security from 2010 to 2011, Minister of Sustainable Resource Development from 2011 to 2012, Minister of Aboriginal Relations from 2013 to 2014 and Minister of Energy from 2014 to 2015.
Oberle was defeated in the
2015 election, and
Debbie Jabbour of the
Alberta New Democratic Party
The Alberta New Democratic Party (Alberta NDP; ), is social democratic political party in Alberta, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left to left-wing of the political spectrum and is a provincial Alberta affiliate of the federal New Democra ...
became MLA for Peace River.
Personal life
Oberle lives with his wife Debbie in Peace River. The couple has two children, Kevin and Sadie. In his spare time, he enjoys fishing, woodworking, and river boating.
Election results
References
External links
Frank Oberle's web page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oberle, Frank Jr.
1957 births
Living people
Canadian foresters
Members of the Executive Council of Alberta
Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs
21st-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta