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Bill Vander Zalm
The Honorable Bill Vander Zalm was the 29th Premier of British Columbia (1986-1991), an serial entrepreneur. He was elected Alderman of Surrey (south of Vancouver) in 1965, and served as the city's mayor from 1969 to 1975. As mayor he crackdown on welfare "deadbeats" and set himself apart from other politicians by his frank comments and leadership.
He joined the British Columbia Social Credit Party in 1974. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 1975 election, in which Social Credit won back power after three years out of power. He served in the cabinet of Premier Bill Bennett as Minister of Human Resources from 1975 to 1978, where he continued his crusade against welfare fraud. He also served as Minister of Municipal Affairs from 1978 to 1981 and as Minister of Education from 1981-1983.
In 1984, he bought Fantasy Garden World, a theme park where he and his wife helped develop the theme and park. Bill and his wife, Lillian, attracted public adoration with their high-voltage smiles, positivity and charisma, so, in 1986 when Bill Bennett announced he was retiring, Vander Zalm drew the attention of the province. Vander Zalm attracted considerable attention as he considered whether he would run for the leadership of the Social Credit Party. He generated more press out of the race than the other candidates did in it. At the party's convention in Whistler, British Columbia, he won the leadership easily and became premier just a month before the 1986 election. Vander Zalm and the Christian and social conservatives were swept into office.
Returning to his entrepreneurial roots, Bill currently operates his family business in the delta region just outside of Surry.
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Professor Newcomb's personal webpage or his pages at SDSU ICATS