Marilyn Trenholme Counsell (born October 22, 1933) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

lecturer, doctor and politician. Counsell was a

Canadian Senator The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the Bri ...

and Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick from 1997 to 2003.

Early life and career

She was born in

Baie Verte, New Brunswick Baie Verte is a community in Westmorland County in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Of French origin: "...from the salt water grasses which in the summer make the bay look like an immense meadow" (Ganong). Variations: Franquelin, 1686- ...

, the daughter of Harry Frederick and Mildred (née Baxter) Trenholme. She married Kenneth Walter Counsell in 1972; they had two children, Giles Baxter Counsell and Lorna Joy Counsell. Kenneth Counsell died in 1981. She has a BSc from

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Like other liberal arts colleges in North America, Mount Allison does not parti ...

, MA in nutrition from

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and an MD from the University of Toronto. She worked first as a nutritionist for the Governments of New Brunswick and Ontario, and following her MD as a family physician at the

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital ...

, and in Sackville and Port Elgin, New Brunswick. She was elected member of 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 Tantramar in the 1987

General Election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

, reelected in 1991 and 1995. During this time, from 1994 to 1997, she also served in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

as Minister of State for the Family and Minister of State for Family and Community Services.

Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick

She served as the 28th

Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick The lieutenant governor of New Brunswick (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''du Nouveau-Brunswick'') is the viceregal representative in New Brunswick of the , who operates distinctly wit ...

from 1997-2003. During her tenure, she reopened Old Government House, as "The People's House", and focused on early childhood literacy.

Senator

She was appointed to the Senate in 2003 by

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Adrienne Clarkson Adrienne Louise Clarkson (; ; born February 10, 1939) is a British Hong Kong, Hong Kong-born Canadian journalist who served from 1999 to 2005 as Governor General of Canada, the List of Governors General of Canada#Governors General of Canada, 1 ...

, on the advice of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

, and sat as a member of the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

caucus. As a Senator, she was an advocate for literacy, health and early childhood development. She reached the mandatory retirement age on October 22, 2008. In 2008, she began lecturing on Political Leadership in Canada at Mount Allison University. She was named to the Order of New Brunswick (ONB) that year (2008).

Honours and awards

In 1994 on behalf of the Province of New Brunswick she received a UN Year of the Family award. As the Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of St. John (DStJ). In June 2012, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada (OC). She received honorary degrees from l'universite de Moncton, Mount Allison and University of New Brunswick and was also honoured with the Sir Charles Tupper Award for Political Action (CMA) and the Champion of Public Education Award (TLP).

Arms

References

External links

Biography for the Senate of Canada
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trenholme Counsell, Marilyn 1933 births Living people Canadian general practitioners New Brunswick Liberal Association MLAs Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick Liberal Party of Canada senators Canadian senators from New Brunswick Lieutenant Governors of New Brunswick Mount Allison University alumni University of Toronto alumni Members of the Order of New Brunswick Women MLAs in New Brunswick Women members of the Senate of Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Canadian women viceroys 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada 20th-century Canadian politicians 20th-century Canadian women politicians