- Gerard Jennissen
Gerard Jennissen (born
February 22 ,1942 ) is a politician inManitoba ,Canada . He is currently a member of theManitoba legislature .Jennissen was born in Slek-Echt, in the district of Limburg in the
Netherlands . His family emigrated to Selnac,Saskatchewan in 1952, where his father worked as a farmer. Jennissen graduated from theUniversity of Saskatchewan in 1966 with degrees in Arts and Education, and received a Master of Arts degree in Communication in 1969. He taught English atRose Valley High School in Saskatchewan for three years, and worked for Frontier Collegiate Institute from 1972 to 1994. He has also been involved in several peace and justice organizations operating in the third world.Jennissen became involved in the
New Democratic Party in the early 1960s, after hearingTommy Douglas speak in Saskatchewan. He continued his NDP affiliation after moving to Manitoba.In the 1995 election, Jennissen was elected to the Manitoba Legislature for the northern Manitoba constituency of Flin Flon, defeating Progressive Conservative
Scott Merrell , 2732 votes to 2017. Also in 1995, he supportedLorne Nystrom 's bid to lead the federalNew Democratic Party .He was re-elected by a wider margin in the 1999 election, and received over 73% support in the 2003 election. Jennissen was the NDP critic for Highways and Transportation between 1995 and 1999, but was not appointed to cabinet when the NDP formed government in 1999.
In 2000, he was appointed to the
Manitoba Hydro Board. In 2003, he supportedBill Blaikie 's campaign to lead the federal NDP.He was re-elected in the 2007 provincial election.
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