John George Diefenbaker - Biography.

John George Diefenbaker - Biography. 13th prime minister of Canada Birth September 18, 1895 Death August 16, 1979 Place of Birth Neustadt, Grey County, Ontario Constituencies Lake Centre, Saskatchewan (1940-1953) Prince Albert, Saskatchewan (1953-1979) Political Party Progressive Conservative (formerly Conservative) Term 1957-1963 Significant Appointed the first aboriginal person to the senate in 1958 Acts Introduced the Canadian Bill of Rights in 1958, which was adopted two years later Instituted a road- and rail-building program to open northern Canada to trade Gave aboriginal Canadians the right to vote Supported the motion against apartheid in the 1961 meeting of Commonwealth heads of government, which resulted in South Africa leaving the Commonwealth Career 1936-1938 Led the Saskatchewan Conservative Party 1940 Won election to Parliament, where he remained until his death in 1979 1956 Succeeded George Drew as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, a position he retained until 1967 June 1957 Was selected to serve as prime minister in a Progressive Conservative minority government 1958 Called an early election in which the Progressive Conservative Party won 208 seats out of 265 1958 Passed the Agricultural Stabilization Act 1962 Retained his position as prime minister in a minority government after general elections 1963 Resigned from office following a parliamentary no-confidence vote, due largely to his stance against Canadian nuclear armament Did You Know Diefenbaker was the first Conservative prime minister in 22 years. Diefenbaker's 1958 election gave the Conservative Party its largest parliamentary majority in Canadian history at that time. Diefenbaker's energetic campaign style in 1957 earned him the nickname Dief the Chief. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.