Keith Wayne Milligan (born February 8, 1950 in

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

) was the 29th

premier of Prince Edward Island The premier of Prince Edward Island is the first minister and head of government for the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. The current premier of Prince Edward Island is Dennis King (politician), Den ...

, serving for seven weeks in the autumn of 1996. He was educated at Inverness District School, O'Leary Regional High School and the University of PEI, where he obtained Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees. He is married to the former Deborah Foley and they reside in Tyne Valley. They have three children - Charles Christian (Jolene), Olivia (Shawn) and Dustin.

Provincial politics

He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of PEI in a by-election on February 2, 1981, and was re-elected in the general elections of 1982, 1986, 1989, 1993 and 1996. He served as interim Leader of the Opposition and Critic for Education. In 1986 he was appointed Minister of Health and Social Services and Minister Responsible for the Hospital and Health Services Commission. In 1989, Milligan was appointed Minister of Agriculture. In 1993 he was appointed Minister of Education and Human Resources and in 1994 he was appointed Minister of Transportation and Public Works.

Brief tenure as Premier

In October 1996, he was chosen leader of the governing Liberal party and became Premier, following

Catherine Callbeck Catherine Sophia Callbeck (born July 25, 1939) is a Canadian retired politician and the current and ninth Chancellor of the University of Prince Edward Island. She was the 28th premier of Prince Edward Island from 1993 to 1996, the third fema ...

's resignation. Milligan's Liberals lost the following November provincial election to

Pat Binns Patrick George Binns (born October 8, 1948), is a Canadian diplomat, the 30th premier of Prince Edward Island from 1996 to 2007 and Canadian Ambassador to Ireland from 2007 to 2010. Binns has a long history of public service, most notably being ...

' Progressive Conservatives.

Federal politics

Having announced he would be seeking the Liberal nomination in the federal riding of Egmont, on November 3, 2007, at the nominating Liberal convention, he lost the nomination to Robert Morrissey. When Morrissey stepped down, however, Milligan was acclaimed as the new candidate on September 5, 2008. He lost to

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate,

Gail Shea Gail A. Shea (born April 6, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament for Egmont from 2008 to 2015. She was previously a member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 2000 to 2007, representing the ...

in the 2008 election, in one of the narrowest results in the country. A requested recount did not affect the result, and Milligan conceded.

Since 2008

Milligan is a former elk farmer and silver fox rancher. He has previously been employed as a teacher with the Unit 1 School board and Regional Director of the West Prince Services Centre. He has been vice-president of the Tyne Valley Community Oyster Festival, a member of the West Prince Community Advisory Board, the Canadian National Fur Breeders' Association, the PEI Fur Breeders' Association, the Tyne Valley Fireman's Club and the Tyne Valley Community Sports Centre.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milligan, Keith 1950 births Living people People from Prince County, Prince Edward Island Premiers of Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island Liberal Party MLAs Candidates in the 2008 Canadian federal election Prince Edward Island Liberal Party leaders Prince Edward Island candidates for Member of Parliament Liberal Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons