George Johnson (Manitoba politician)
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The Honourable George Johnson OC |
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|---|---|
| 20th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba | |
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In office December 11, 1986 – March 5, 1993 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor-General |
Jeanne Sauvé Ray Hnatyshyn |
| Premier |
Howard Pawley Gary Filmon |
| Preceded by | Pearl McGonigal |
| Succeeded by | Yvon Dumont |
| Manitoba Minister of Health1 | |
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In office September 24, 1968 – July 15, 1969 |
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| Premier | Walter Weir |
| Preceded by | Charles Witney |
| Succeeded by | Sidney Green (as Minister of Health and Social Development) |
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In office June 30, 1958 – December 9, 1963 |
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| Premier | Dufferin Roblin |
| Preceded by | Robert Bend |
| Succeeded by | Charles Witney |
| Manitoba Minister of Education | |
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In office December 9, 1963 – September 24, 1968 |
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| Premier |
Dufferin Roblin Walter Weir |
| Preceded by | Stewart McLean |
| Succeeded by | Donald Craik (as Minister of Youth and Education) |
| Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba | |
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In office June 16, 1958 – June 25, 1969 |
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| Preceded by | Steinn O. Thompson |
| Succeeded by | John Gottfried |
| Constituency | Gimli |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 18, 1920 Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| Died | June 8, 1995 (aged 74) Gimli, Manitoba |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Doris Blondal |
| Alma mater | University of Manitoba |
| Profession | Physician |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | Royal Canadian Navy |
| Years of service | 1941–1945 |
| Rank | Captain |
| 1 Minister of Health and Public Welfare from June 30, 1958 to October 25, 1961 | |
George Johnson, OC (November 18, 1920 – July 8, 1995) was a medical doctor and is seen by historians as one of the leading political reformers of the twentieth century in Manitoba. He served as a Cabinet Minister in the governments of Dufferin Roblin and Walter Weir and as the province's 20th Lieutenant Governor from 1986 to 1993.
Johnson was born in Winnipeg, to a family of Icelandic heritage. He received a B.Sc. and M.D. from the University of Manitoba and served as a Lieutenant (later, Captain) with the Royal Canadian Navy from 1941-1945.
Johnson was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in 1958, for the riding of Gimli, north of Winnipeg. A Progressive Conservative, he was appointed Minister of Health and Public Welfare in the minority government of Dufferin Roblin, who had personally recruited him to run for the party. He retained the health portfolio when the Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in 1959, and oversaw a policy of major hospital expansions in the province and other significant reforms between 1959 and 1963.
On December 9, 1963, Johnson moved to the Ministry of Education as the government sought to cope with the educational requirements of a rapidly expanding baby-boom population. He held this position until September 24, 1968, and was responsible for, among other achievements, the establishment of the universities of Winnipeg and Brandon, respectively, and the Manitoba Institute of Technology (later 'Red River Community College'), and for introducing the policy of "shared services" for public and separate schools (allowing children in separate schools to access public programs for busing, textbooks and the like). In 1968, Johnson returned to his old portfolio as Minister of Health, to oversee an historic change in the provision of medical services: the implementation of medicare in Manitoba.
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