Bill Rompkey
{{Short description|Canadian educator and politician}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = The Honourable
| name = Bill Rompkey
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}}
| image =
| caption =
| office = Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate
| primeminister = Paul Martin
| leader = Jack Austin
| term_start = January 15, 2004
| term_end = February 5, 2006
| predecessor = Fernand Robichaud
| successor = Gerald Comeau
| office1 = Government Whip in the Senate
| primeminister1 = Jean Chrétien
Paul Martin
| leader1 = Sharon Carstairs
Jack Austin
| term_start1 = September 7, 2001
| term_end1 = January 14, 2004
| predecessor1 = Léonce Mercier
| successor1 = Rose-Marie Losier-Cool
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Canadian Cabinet
|titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office2 = Minister of State (Mines)
| primeminister2 = John Turner
| minister2 = Gerald Regan
| term_start2 = June 30, 1984
| term_end2 = September 16, 1984
| predecessor2 = Position established
| successor2 = Robert Layton
| office3 = Minister of State (Transport)
| primeminister3 = John Turner
| minister3 = Lloyd Axworthy
| term_start3 = June 30, 1984
| term_end3 = September 16, 1984
| predecessor3 = Robert Howie (1980)
| successor3 = Benoît Bouchard
| office4 = Minister of National Revenue
| primeminister4 = Pierre Trudeau
| term_start4 = March 3, 1980
| term_end4 = September 29, 1982
| predecessor4 = Walter Baker
| successor4 = Pierre Bussières{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Parliamentary constituencies
|titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office5 = Canadian Senator
from Newfoundland and Labrador
| term_start5 = September 21, 1995
| term_end5 = May 13, 2011
| nominator5 = Jean Chrétien
| appointer5 = Roméo LeBlanc
| predecessor5 = Jack Marshall
| successor5 = Norman Doyle (2012)
| parliament9 = Canadian
| riding9 = Labrador
{{small|(Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador; 1972–1988)}}
| term_start9 = October 30, 1972
| term_end9 = September 20, 1995
| predecessor9 = Ambrose Peddle
| successor9 = Lawrence D. O'Brien (1996){{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
| birth_name = William Hubert Rompkey
| birth_date = {{birth date|1936|5|13|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Belleoram, Dominion of Newfoundland
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|2017|3|21|1936|5|13}}
| death_place = Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| nationality =
| party = Liberal
| spouse = {{marriage|Carolyn Pike|1963}}
| relations =
| children = Hilary Rompkey
Peter Rompkey
| residence =
| alma_mater = {{plainlist|
- Bishop Feild College
- Memorial University (BA, 1957), MA, LLD (Hon.), University of London
- University of Toronto
}}
| occupation = Canadian Senator
| profession = Educator
| allegiance = Canada
| branch = Royal Canadian Navy
| rank = Lieutenant (Reserve)
| cabinet = Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate (2004–2006)
Government Whip in the Senate (2001–2004)
Minister of State (Mines) (1984)
Minister of State (Small business and Tourism) (1982–1983)
Minister of National Revenue (1980–1982)
| signature =
}}
William Hubert Rompkey {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC}} (May 13, 1936 – March 21, 2017) was a Canadian educator and politician from Newfoundland. A member of the Liberal Party, he served as member of Parliament from Labrador from 1972 to 1995, and as a senator from Newfoundland and Labrador from 1995 to 2011.{{Cite web |url=http://vocm.com/news/former-senator-and-mp-bill-rompkey-passes-away-at-80/ |title=VOCM - Former Senator and MP, Bill Rompkey Passes Away at 80 |access-date=2017-03-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327083517/http://vocm.com/news/former-senator-and-mp-bill-rompkey-passes-away-at-80/ |archive-date=2017-03-27 |url-status=dead }}
Early life and education
Rompkey was born in Belleoram, Fortune Bay, Newfoundland. He attended Bishop Feild College in St. John's. In 1953, after he left Bishop Feild College, Rompkey entered Memorial University, where he graduated with a BA, a diploma in education, and an MA. Rompkey continued his studies at the University of London, England, where he received the Academic Diploma in Education.
Career as an educator
After Rompkey returned from his studies in London, he started his career as an educator. Rompkey taught school at Upper Island Cove and in St. John's. In 1963, he married fellow Memorial University graduate Carolyn Pike, and then, lured by Tony Paddon, Rompkey took an appointment as principal of the Yale Amalgamated School in North West River. Rompkey later became the first Superintendent of Education with the Labrador East Integrated School Board, a position he held until 1971. In January 1972, Rompkey was studying for his Ph.D. in Adult Education at the University of Toronto when he won the nomination to represent the Grand Falls-White Bay-Labrador riding for the Liberal Party.
Parliamentary career
=The House of Commons=
Rompkey was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1972 federal election as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador, the first of seven consecutive election victories. He defeated Progressive Conservative incumbent Ambrose Peddle to win the seat. In 1980, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau elevated Rompkey to the Canadian Cabinet as Minister of National Revenue. In 1982, he was moved to the position of Minister of State for Small Businesses and Tourism becoming Minister of State for Mines in 1984. He was Minister of State for Transport in the short-lived Cabinet of John Turner until the government's defeat in the 1984 election.
=Senate=
In 1995, Governor General of Canada Roméo LeBlanc, on the advice of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, appointed Rompkey to the Senate of Canada. In 2001, he became Government Whip in the Senate and was deputy leader of the government in the Senate until the Conservatives took power in February 2006 as a result of a federal election. He reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 on May 13, 2011.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=3354}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090927105241/http://www.mun.ca/president/99-00report/honor/honorary_rompkey.html Biography from Memorial University]
{{Turner Ministry}}
{{Second Trudeau Ministry}}
{{CA-Ministers of National Revenue}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rompkey, Bill}}
Category:Alumni of the University of London
Category:Canadian senators from Newfoundland and Labrador
Category:Liberal Party of Canada MPs
Category:Liberal Party of Canada senators
Category:Members of the 22nd Canadian Ministry
Category:Members of the 23rd Canadian Ministry
Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Newfoundland and Labrador
Category:Bishop Feild School alumni
Category:20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada