Ed Stelmach (born 1951) is the current Premier of Alberta, Canada, having served in this capacity since December 14, 2006. He spent his entire pre-political adult life as a farmer, except for some time spent studying at the University of Alberta. His first foray into politics was a 1986 municipal election, when he was elected to the county council of Lamont County. A year into his term, he was appointed reeve. He continued in this position until his entry into provincial politics. In the 1993 provincial election, Stelmach was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vegreville-Viking. A Progressive Conservative, he served in the cabinets of Ralph Klein. When Klein resigned the party's leadership in 2006, Stelmach was among the first candidates to replace him. After a third place finish on the first ballot of the leadership race, he won an upset second ballot victory over former provincial treasurer Jim Dinning. Stelmach's premiership has been heavily focussed on management of the province's oil reserves, especially those of the Athabasca Oil Sands. Other policy initiatives have included commencing an overhaul of the province's health governance system, a re-introduction of all-party committees to the Legislature, and the conclusion of a major labour agreement with Alberta's teachers.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Stelmach

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1493:

Pope Alexander VI issued the papal bull Inter caetera, establishing a Line of Demarcation dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inter_caetera

1886:

An unknown assailant threw a bomb into a crowd of police, turning a peaceful labor rally in Chicago into the Haymarket massacre, resulting in the deaths of seven police officers and an unknown number of civilians. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair

1949:

A plane carrying almost the entire Torino A.C. football team crashed into the hill of Superga near Turin, Italy, killing all 31 aboard including 18 players, club officials, and the journalists accompanying them. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superga_air_disaster

1979:

Margaret Thatcher became the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, following the defeat of James Callaghan's incumbent Labour government in the previous day's general election. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher

1990:

The Supreme Soviet of the Latvian SSR declared the restoration of independence of Latvia, stating that the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940 were illegal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_the_Restoration_of_Independence_of_the_Republic_of_Latvia

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

gullet (n): The throat or esophagus http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/gullet

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering cold iron. --Horace Mann http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Horace_Mann