The Honourable Shawn Michael Graham

English: , Shawn Michael Graham was born on February 22, 1968 in Rexton, New Brunswick. He is the eldest child of Alan Graham and Sharon Crothers, and his step-mother Connie Tramley. His family also includes wife Roxanne Reeves, PhD, three brothers, one sister, and many nieces and nephews. Graham is an alumnus of the University of New Brunswick, St. Thomas University, and the Universite Canadienne en France., As a 30-year-old candidate, Shawn Graham successfully ran in the Kent by-election on October 30, 1998. On May 12, 2002, he became the youngest leader of a Liberal Party in Canada as well as the youngest Leader of an official Opposition Party in Canada. The Graham-led Liberals introduced a record number of pieces of legislation for an opposition party and continued their election momentum over the next three years, winning two by-elections before a general election was called in the fall of 2006 by the Progressive Conservative government. , On September 18, 2006, the liberals won 29 of 55 seats, making Mr. Graham the 31st Premier of New Brunswick. On his first day in office Premier Graham acted on five substantial campaign promises, setting the pace and tone for his premiership. These were immediately followed with the implementation of his Charter for Change agenda which aimed at making New Brunswick a self-sufficient province. This charter was based upon three main objectives: leveraging energy conservation and generation, improvements in education, and growing the economy through an aggressive job creation effort., Premier Graham was very active on the national political landscape. Early in his mandate, he served as Chair of the Council of the Federation. He also represented the province at the International Organisation of La Francophonie and co-led a Canadian Trade mission to China., Premier Graham spearheaded a proactive agenda that included the Poverty Reduction Initiative to assist the most vulnerable in the province, the Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act, and various infrastructure programs in mining, river restoration, and wind power generation. He also advanced work on public engagement and the role of non-profit community organizations as partners with the provincial government. During his mandate, Premier Graham's government created Ambulance New Brunswick and increased funding to post-secondary students. The Graham government also established a Child and Youth Advocate that provided a third-party spokesperson for systemic issues that affected young people and created a medical program at UNB in partnership with the Dalhousie Faculty of Medicine., The Assembly of First Nations Chiefs and the Graham Government formed an historic bilateral agreement to create a platform for reconciliatory dialog and the beginning of a path towards modern treaty relationships. The Graham Government also provided essential service legislation for nursing homes, initiated comprehensive tax reform, created a responsible gaming strategy that led to the creation of Casino NB and the elimination of VLTs in family restaurants, and reversed the province's population decline. Indeed, the Graham government ran budget surpluses until 2008 when, like other jurisdictions, it moved to deficit spending to help stimulate the economy during the global recession., In 2010 Premier Graham was named Visionary of the Year by the Intelligent Community Forum, a New York think tank for his dedication to make New Brunswick the first complete broadband province in Canada. This province-wide fibre-optic network allowed New Brunswick to receive recognition as an innovator throughout the country and internationally., Premier Graham's time in office was not without controversy. Instead of avoiding issues, his government chose to offer solutions. They reduced the number of Regional Health Authorities, created the New Brunswick Internal Services Agency, changed the French immersion program, created an independent community college system, and made an attempt to sell NB Power to Hydro Quebec in exchange for the elimination of the utility's debt and guaranteed reductions in residential and industrial power rates., Although Mr. Graham was re-elected for Kent in the September 27, 2010 election, the Liberals were defeated by David Alward and the Progressive Conservative Party. Mr. Graham resigned as Liberal Party leader on November 9, 2010 but remained as MLA until March 11, 2013.,