Premier of Nunavut

The premier of Nunavut is the first minister for the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The premier is the territory's head of government and de facto chief executive, although their powers are somewhat more limited than those of a provincial premier.

Premier of Nunavut
Premier ministre du Nunavut
Incumbent
Joe Savikataaq
since June 14, 2018
Office of the Premier
Style
StatusHead of Government
Member of
Reports to
SeatIqaluit
AppointerCommissioner of Nunavut
with the confidence of the Nunavut Legislature
Term lengthAt the Commissioner's pleasure
contingent on the premier's ability to command confidence in the legislative assembly
Formation1 April 1999
First holderPaul Okalik
DeputyDeputy premier of Nunavut
WebsiteOffice of the Premier

Unlike most other premiers who are officially appointed by a lieutenant governor or commissioner on account of their leadership of a majority bloc in the legislature, the premier of Nunavut (and the Cabinet) is directly elected by the non-partisan members of the Legislative Assembly, in accordance with the system of consensus government. He or she is then formally appointed by the commissioner of Nunavut, who is bound to act on the Assembly's recommendation by both the Nunavut Act and convention.[1][2]

History

The territory's first premier, Paul Okalik, was elected after the 1999 general elections. He was re-elected to a second term after the 2004 general elections.[3] Although Okalik was re-elected to a third term after the 2008 general elections in the Iqaluit West riding, he was defeated by newly elected MLA Eva Aariak in the premiership vote on November 14.[4] On 15 November, 2013, Peter Taptuna beat out Okalik and Paul Quassa for the position of premier.[5] Quassa was elected in 2017 but lost a confidence vote in 2018 which lead to the election of Joe Savikataaq.

Premiers of Nunavut
No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
District		 Term of office Electoral mandates (Assembly)


1
Paul Okalik
(b. 1964)
MLA for Iqaluit West		 1 April 1999
–
19 November 2008



2
Eva Aariak
(b. 1955)
MLA for Iqaluit East		 19 November 2008
–
19 November 2013



3
Peter Taptuna
(b. 1956)
MLA for Kugluktuk		 19 November 2013
–
21 November 2017



4
Paul Quassa
(b. 1952)
MLA for Aggu		 21 November 2017
–
June 14 2018



5
Joe Savikataaq
(b. 1960)
MLA for Arviat South		 14 June 2018
–



Living former premiers

As of October 2020, all four former premiers are alive. Since the creation of the office in 1999, no former premier has died.

NameTermDate of birth
Paul Okalik 1999–2008 (1964-05-26) May 26, 1964
Eva Aariak 2008–2013 (1955-01-10) January 10, 1955
Peter Taptuna 2013–2017 1956 (age 64–65)
Paul Quassa 2017–2018 1951 (age 69–70)

See also


References
  1. Legislative Assembly of Nunavut Frequently Asked Questions
  2. The Role of the Commissioner of Nunavut
  3. "Constituency Profiles". CBC. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 10 November 2008.
  4. "Nunavut names new premier" Archived 2008-11-17 at the Wayback Machine, The Globe and Mail, November 14, 2008.
  5. MLAs choose Peter Taptuna to serve as Nunavut premier



This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.