Gene Zwozdesky | |
|---|---|
 Zwozdesky at a charity function in June 2013 | |
| 12th Speaker of the Alberta Legislative Assembly | |
| In office May 23, 2012 – June 11, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Ken Kowalski |
| Succeeded by | Bob Wanner |
| MLA forEdmonton-Mill Creek | |
| In office 1997–2015 | |
| Preceded by | New District |
| Succeeded by | Denise Woollard |
| MLA for Edmonton-Avonmore | |
| In office 1993–1997 | |
| Preceded by | Marie Laing |
| Succeeded by | District Abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1948-07-24)July 24, 1948 |
| Died | January 6, 2019(2019-01-06) (aged 70) |
| Party | Progressive Conservative |
| Other political affiliations | Liberal (1993–1998) |
| Spouse | Christine Zwozdesky |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Edmonton, Alberta |
| Occupation | Teacher |
Eugene ZwozdeskyMLA (July 24, 1948 – January 6, 2019) was a Canadian politician in the province ofAlberta. He served in theLegislative Assembly of Alberta from 1993 to 2015, and was the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2012 to 2015.[1]
Zwozdesky was born on July 24, 1948, inNipawin, Saskatchewan, to Ukrainian-Canadian parents Alec and Anna Zwozdesky[2][3] and came to Alberta at the age of two. He lived inGrand Centre,Hinton andSangudo before moving toEdmonton, where he lived since 1963. After attendingVictoria Composite High School, he obtained bachelor's degrees in arts and education from theUniversity of Alberta.[4] Before becoming involved in politics, Zwozdesky worked as a teacher, administrator, professional musician, and businessman.
Zwozdesky was first elected in the1993 Alberta general election as theAlberta Liberal Party's candidate, defeating incumbentMarie Laing of theAlberta New Democratic Party. He was re-elected to the new riding ofEdmonton-Mill Creek in the1997 Alberta general election.
In July 1998, he left the Liberal Party caucus and sat as anIndependent member after a dispute over fiscal policy. He joined the governingProgressive Conservatives a month later. In the2001 Alberta general election, he won by a generous margin over the Liberal challengerBharat Agnihotri.
Zwozdesky was appointed to thecabinet as Minister ofCommunity Development; after being re-elected in the2004 Alberta general election, he was appointed Minister of Education.
On December 15, 2006, Zwozdesky was replaced in PremierEd Stelmach's cabinet byRon Liepert. He again joined the Alberta Cabinet on June 27, 2007, as Associate Minister for Capital Planning. In 2008, he was theMinister of Aboriginal Relations andDeputy Government House Leader. He was also co-chair of theAdvisory Council on Alberta-Ukraine Relations, co-chair of theCabinet Policy Committee on Public Safety and Services, and a member of theStanding Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing.[5]
Zwozdesky has won numerous awards from cultural and arts organizations, as well as the 2005 Alberta Centennial Medal.[5]
Zwozdesky was re-elected in the 2012 provincial election as an incumbent PC candidate. He was defeated in the2015 Alberta general election byAlberta NDP candidateDenise Woollard.[6]
Zwozdesky joined theUkrainian Shumka Dancers in 1963, and danced in the troupe for six years before becoming themusical director, composing and conducting Shumka's music for twenty-five years;[7] he also served in the same role for theCheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company. He was involved in various other cultural organizations, was the executive director of theAlberta Cultural Heritage Foundation and theAlberta Ukrainian Canadian Centennial Commission, and has served on various voluntary boards.[5][4] He was married to Christine, with two children.[2]
He died of cancer on January 6, 2019, aged 70.[8][9]
| 1993 Alberta general election:Edmonton-Avonmore | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Gene Zwozdesky | 6,728 | 52.67% | 24.59% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Ken Alyluia | 3,433 | 26.88% | -3.33% | ||||
| New Democratic | Marie Laing | 2,190 | 17.15% | -24.56% | ||||
| Social Credit | Leslie M. Jackson | 285 | 2.23% | – | ||||
| Greens | Dennis Clark | 97 | 0.76% | – | ||||
| Natural Law | Lucia Hoff | 40 | 0.31% | – | ||||
| Total | 12,773 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled, and declined | 28 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 22,055 | 58.04% | – | |||||
| Liberalgain fromNew Democratic | Swing | 7.15% | ||||||
Source(s) Source:"Edmonton-Avonmore Official Results 1993 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. RetrievedMay 21, 2020. | ||||||||
| 1997 Alberta general election:Edmonton-Mill Creek | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Gene Zwozdesky | 6,757 | 51.91% | – | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Sukhi Randhawa | 3,679 | 28.27% | – | ||||
| New Democratic | Stephen Crocker | 1,804 | 13.86% | – | ||||
| Social Credit | Christie Forget | 776 | 5.96% | – | ||||
| Total | 13,016 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 18 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 23,216 | 56.14% | – | |||||
| Liberalpickup new district. | ||||||||
Source(s) Source:"Edmonton-Mill Creek Official Results 1997 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. RetrievedMay 21, 2020. "1997 General Election". Elections Alberta. RetrievedMay 26, 2020. | ||||||||
| 2001 Alberta general election:Edmonton-Mill Creek | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gene Zwozdesky | 8,085 | 55.67% | 27.40% | ||||
| Liberal | Bharat Agnihotri | 4,229 | 29.12% | -22.80% | ||||
| New Democratic | Edwin Villania | 1,893 | 13.03% | -0.83% | ||||
| Alberta First | Kyle Harvey | 220 | 1.51% | – | ||||
| Greens | Harlan Light | 97 | 0.67% | – | ||||
| Total | 14,524 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 41 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 26,307 | 55.37% | -0.78% | |||||
| Progressive Conservativegain fromLiberal | Swing | 1.45% | ||||||
Source(s) Source:"Edmonton-Mill Creek Official Results 2001 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. RetrievedMay 21, 2020. | ||||||||
| 2004 Alberta general election:Edmonton-Mill Creek | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gene Zwozdesky | 5,070 | 42.08% | -13.59% | ||||
| Liberal | Aman Gill | 4,289 | 35.60% | 6.48% | ||||
| New Democratic | Nathan Taylor | 1,709 | 14.18% | 1.15% | ||||
| Alberta Alliance | Robert J. Alford | 523 | 4.34% | – | ||||
| Greens | Eric Stieglitz | 386 | 3.20% | 2.54% | ||||
| Independent | Cameron Johnson | 72 | 0.60% | – | ||||
| Total | 12,049 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 50 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 24,419 | 49.55% | -5.82% | |||||
| Progressive Conservativehold | Swing | -10.03% | ||||||
Source(s) Source:"Edmonton-Mill Creek Official Results 2004 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. RetrievedMay 21, 2020. "Edmonton-Mill Creek Statement of Official Results 2004 Alberta general election"(PDF). Elections Alberta. RetrievedMay 28, 2020. | ||||||||
| 2008 Alberta general election:Edmonton-Mill Creek | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gene Zwozdesky | 6,857 | 50.78% | 8.70% | ||||
| Liberal | Aman Gill | 4,058 | 30.05% | -5.55% | ||||
| New Democratic | Stephen Anderson | 1,822 | 13.49% | -0.69% | ||||
| Green | Glen Argan | 726 | 5.38% | – | ||||
| Communist | Naomi Rankin | 41 | 0.30% | – | ||||
| Total | 13,504 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 90 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 29,773 | 45.66% | -3.89% | |||||
| Progressive Conservativehold | Swing | 7.12% | ||||||
Source(s) Source:The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-seventh Legislative Assembly.Elections Alberta. May 28, 2020. pp. 320–323. | ||||||||
| 2012 Alberta general election:Edmonton-Mill Creek | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gene Zwozdesky | 6,623 | 55.06% | 4.28% | ||||
| Wildrose | Adam Corsaut | 2,193 | 18.23% | – | ||||
| Liberal | Mike Butler | 1,640 | 13.63% | -16.42% | ||||
| New Democratic | Evelinne Teichgraber | 1,336 | 11.11% | -2.39% | ||||
| Alberta Party | Judy Wilson | 194 | 1.61% | – | ||||
| Communist | Naomi Rankin | 43 | 0.36% | 0.05% | ||||
| Total | 12,029 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 117 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 25,250 | 48.10% | 2.44% | |||||
| Progressive Conservativehold | Swing | 8.05% | ||||||
Source(s) Source:"Elections Alberta 2012 General Election".Elections Alberta. RetrievedMay 21, 2020. "40 - Edmonton-Mill Creek".officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved4 June 2020. | ||||||||
| 2015 Alberta general election:Edmonton-Mill Creek | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| New Democratic | Denise Woollard | 9,025 | 55.94% | 44.83% | ||||
| Progressive Conservative | Gene Zwozdesky | 3,848 | 23.85% | -31.21% | ||||
| Liberal | Harpreet Gill | 1,896 | 11.75% | -1.88% | ||||
| Wildrose | Saqib Raja | 1,365 | 8.46% | -9.77% | ||||
| Total | 16,134 | – | – | |||||
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | 59 | – | – | |||||
| Eligible electors / turnout | 32,521 | 49.79% | 1.69% | |||||
| New Democraticgain fromProgressive Conservative | Swing | -2.37% | ||||||
Source(s) Source:"Elections Alberta 2015 General Election".Elections Alberta. RetrievedMay 21, 2020. "40 - Edmonton-Mill Creek".officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved4 June 2020. | ||||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
