News and Media
Alison Reford sworn in as Alberta’s 14th Premier
October 17, 2011 by Scott Sakatch in News
Alison M. Redford Q.C. was sworn-in as Alberta’s 14th Premier on October 7 in a ceremony at the Alberta Legislature.
Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor, His Honour, Colonel (Retired) the Honourable Donald S. Ethell administered the oath of office in front of an audience that included grade six classes from two Edmonton schools, Kensington Elementary and Aurora Charter. Redford replaces Ed Stelmach as Alberta’s premier.
During the ceremony, Premier Redford thanked her family and Albertans for their support and pledged to take immediate action on their priorities.
“During the campaign, I heard from thousands of Albertans in all corners of this province, and their concerns were overwhelming about the same things: better access to health care, better education for our children, and the need for a more disciplined approach to our spending priorities,” Redford said.
“In the coming days, I look forward to naming a new cabinet – and taking action on these priorities will be our first order of business.”
Premier Redford was born on March 7, 1965 in Kitimat, British Columbia and grew up all over Canada and overseas before settling in Calgary as a teenager. She graduated from Bishop Carroll High School in Calgary and completed her post-secondary education at the University of Saskatchewan College of Law in 1988. Premier Redford and her husband, Glen Jermyn, have one daughter, Sarah.
Premier Redford has been actively involved in both provincial and national politics since the 1980s. She served as Senior Policy Advisor to the Right Honourable Joe Clark, Secretary of State for External Affairs, and in the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada from 1988 to 1990. In Parliament, she was also the Principal Legislative Advisor to the Secretary of State for External Affairs.
Returning home to Calgary from Ottawa, Premier Redford articled at Rooney Prentice. She then worked in a small partnership before opening her own law firm, gaining practical experience as a small business owner.
Throughout the 1990s, Premier Redford worked as a technical advisor on constitutional and legal reform issues in Africa for the European Union, the Commonwealth Secretariat and both the Canadian and Australian governments. Her work in Africa focused on human rights litigation, education programs and policy reform initiatives.
In 2005, Premier Redford was appointed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations as one of four International Election Commissioners to administer Afghanistan’s first parliamentary elections. She also served as an advisor to the Privy Council Office on Canada’s future involvement in Afghanistan.
Over the course of her career, Premier Redford has also undertaken assignments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Namibia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and the Philippines. Before seeking elected office in Alberta, she managed a judicial training and legal reform project for the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme People’s Court in Vietnam.
Alison Redford was elected MLA for the constituency of Calgary-Elbow on March 3, 2008 and named Minister of Justice and Attorney General on March 12, 2008. In this role, she led the Safe Communities Secretariat. In January 2010, she was also named political minister for Calgary. She was elected leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party on October 1, 2011.
