24th Premier of British Columbia. A member of the Liberal Party, he served in this position From December 1947 until August 1952. Nicknamed "Boss" he was born Bjorn Ingimar Jonsson in Victoria, British Columbia to Icelandic immigrant parents and served overseas in the Canadian Army during World War I. Following the war, he returned to Victoria where he and his brothers established a successful building supply business. In 1933 he entered politics and was elected to British Columbia Legislature as a Liberal. In 1937 he was defeated for re-election and returned to his business efforts. After World War II broke out in September 1939, he built air bases for the Royal Canadian Air Force throughout British Columbia and in 1945 he returned to the Legislature and became a cabinet minister in the Liberal/Conservative Coalition Government under Premier John Hart. After Hart's resignation in December 1947, he became Premier as well as leader of the Liberal Party and the Coalition. During his term in office, his government introduced compulsory health insurance expanded the highway system, extended the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, and negotiated the Alcan Agreement that resulted in the construction of the Kenney Dam, British Columbia's first major hydroelectric project. He also appointed Nancy Hodges as the first female Speaker in the British Commonwealth. In 1951 the Conservatives withdrew from the Coalition and the following year his government lost to William Andrew Cecil Bennett's Social Credit Party. He then returned to private life and died in Victoria at the age of 74.
24th Premier of British Columbia. A member of the Liberal Party, he served in this position From December 1947 until August 1952. Nicknamed "Boss" he was born Bjorn Ingimar Jonsson in Victoria, British Columbia to Icelandic immigrant parents and served overseas in the Canadian Army during World War I. Following the war, he returned to Victoria where he and his brothers established a successful building supply business. In 1933 he entered politics and was elected to British Columbia Legislature as a Liberal. In 1937 he was defeated for re-election and returned to his business efforts. After World War II broke out in September 1939, he built air bases for the Royal Canadian Air Force throughout British Columbia and in 1945 he returned to the Legislature and became a cabinet minister in the Liberal/Conservative Coalition Government under Premier John Hart. After Hart's resignation in December 1947, he became Premier as well as leader of the Liberal Party and the Coalition. During his term in office, his government introduced compulsory health insurance expanded the highway system, extended the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, and negotiated the Alcan Agreement that resulted in the construction of the Kenney Dam, British Columbia's first major hydroelectric project. He also appointed Nancy Hodges as the first female Speaker in the British Commonwealth. In 1951 the Conservatives withdrew from the Coalition and the following year his government lost to William Andrew Cecil Bennett's Social Credit Party. He then returned to private life and died in Victoria at the age of 74.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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