Laureen Harper

Infobox Person
name = Laureen Harper
other_names =


caption = Official Portrait of Laureen Harper
birth_date = 1963
birth_place = Turner Valley, Alberta, Canada
title =
spouse = Stephen Harper
children = Ben Harper (born 1996), Rachel Harper (born 1999)
relations =

Laureen Teskey Harper (born 1963) is the wife of Stephen Harper, who is leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Prime Minister of Canada since February 6, 2006. Teskey was born in Turner Valley, a rural town southwest of Calgary, Alberta. Her parents were ranchers and owned an electrical contracting company.

After graduating from Oilfields High School, she attended the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology where she studied journalism and photography. [Gignac, Tamara, [http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald//story.html?id=2292c455-d6e7-4ee8-aa84-a47424dc3ac5&k=43476 "From Turner Valley to 24 Sussex Dr."] , "Calgary Herald", p. A1, January 28, 2006.]

She was first married to New Zealander Neil Fenton from 1985 to 1988. Kingston, Anne, [http://www.macleans.ca/canada/features/article.jsp?content=20070813_108157_108157&page=2 "Wife of the party"] , "Maclean's", August 13, 2007]

Teskey joined the Reform Party of Canada in the late 1980s, and met Stephen Harper at the Reform assembly in Saskatoon in 1990. They married in 1993. Some of Harper's earliest political contemporaries, including Jim Hawkes, Preston Manning and Deborah Grey, have said that the 'intensely cerebral' Stephen Harper appreciably 'mellowed' after their marriage. [Ryan, Carolyn, [http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes/leadersparties/leaders/bio_harper.html "Stephen Harper and the road to power"] , "CBC.ca"] Media reports have generally credited her as far more personable and friendly in front of the cameras than her husband. She is also much less religious than her husband. Apparently, she does not carry the same beliefs as her husband.

Teskey offers her home to the SPCA as a foster home for kittens, and in her spare time enjoys riding her motorcycle.

Teskey and her husband have two children, Ben (born 1996) and Rachel (born 1999).

Name

There was considerable confusion in the Canadian media about which surname she uses — at different times, media references to her have called her Teskey, Harper or Teskey Harper (not hyphenated). On January 26, 2006, she advised Canadian Press that she wishes to be known as Laureen Harper in her public role as a spouse of the Prime Minister. [ [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1138276087481&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News "It's 'Mrs. Harper', thank you"] , "Toronto Star", January 26, 2006]

Maureen McTeer, the wife of former Prime Minister Joe Clark, also found some controversy in 1979 when she became the first wife of a Prime Minister to use her own surname rather than her husband's.

External links

* [http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/feature.asp?pageId=28 Official biography and photo from the website of the Prime Minister of Canada]

References

Persondata
NAME=Harper, Laureen Teskey
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Teskey Harper, Laureen (alternate form); Teskey, Laureen (birth name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Canadian politician
DATE OF BIRTH=1963
PLACE OF BIRTH=Turner Valley, Alberta, Canada
DATE OF DEATH=living
PLACE OF DEATH=