| Honorific prefix | The Honourable |
|---|---|
| Office 1 | Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta |
| Constituency 1 | Rocky Mountain House |
| Term start 1 | August 30, 1971 |
| Term end 1 | March 14, 1979 |
| Predecessor 1 | Alfred Hooke |
| Successor 1 | John Murray Campbell |
| Office | 12th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta |
| Term start | January 22, 1985 |
| Term end | March 11, 1991 |
| Predecessor | Frank Lynch-Staunton |
| Successor | Gordon Towers |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor general | Jeanne Sauvé Ray Hnatyshyn |
| Premier | Peter Lougheed Don Getty |
| Party | Progressive Conservative |
| Birth name | Wilma Helen Hunley |
| Birth date | September 6, 1920 |
| Birth place | Acme, Alberta, Canada |
| Death date | October 22, 2010 (aged 90) |
| Death place | Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation | Telephone operator, insurance businesswoman |
Wilma Helen Hunley (September 6, 1920 – October 22, 2010) was a Canadian politician and the 12th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, the first woman to serve in that post.
Early life
She was born in Acme, Alberta, to James Edgar Hunley and Esta May Hunley. She first worked as an operator, served overseas in the Canadian Women's Army Corps during World War II and eventually owned and operated an International Harvester franchise and an insurance business.[1]
Political career
Hunley served as a town councilor from 1960 to 1966 and then mayor of Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, from 1966 to 1971. Hunley was elected to the province's legislative assembly as a Progressive Conservative. She was the province's cabinet minister serving as Minister Without Portfolio from 1971 to 1973, Solicitor-General from 1973 to 1975 and then Minister of Social Services and Community Health from 1975 until 1979 when she retired from politics.
In June, 1980, Hunley was appointed chair of the Alberta Mental Health Advisory Council. She also served on the Alberta 75th Anniversary Commission.
Hunley became president of the Progressive Conservative Party of Alberta in 1984 and, in 1985, was appointed by Governor General Jeanne Sauvé, on the advice of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, to the position of lieutenant-governor. She served in the position until 1991. In 1992, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Arms
| Escutcheon | Azure a pile reversed of ears of wheat Or issuant from base and in chief two mullets also Or; |
|---|---|
| Crest | A demi lion Or armed Gules wearing a coronet érablé Azure and gorged with a collar of wild roses leaved proper holding between the forepaws a torch Azure enflamed Or and Gules; |
| Supporters | On a compartment of grassland proper dexter a horse Or langued Gules crined, queued and unguled Azure gorged with a collar Azure pendant therefrom a lozenge Azure charged with a key in pale its ward firred Or sinister a deer Or attired and unguled Azure gorged with a like collar and pendant; |
References
- ^ Sanderson, Kay (1999). 200 Remarkable Alberta Women. Calgary: Famous Five Foundation. p. 93.[dead link]
Bibliography
- Perry, Sandra E. & Powell, Karen L. (2006). On Behalf of the Crown : Lieutenant Governors of the North-West Territories and Alberta, 1869-2005. Edmonton, Alberta: Legislative Assembly of Alberta. ISBN 0-9689217-4-4.