Former Ag Minister, Eugene Whelan, Has Passed Away

by
Photo Courtesy CBC

To say that they don’t make them like that anymore certainly applies to Eugene Whelan, a former federal ag minister who passed away last night at the age of 88 from complications from a stroke. His trademark green cowboy hat and bombastic personality made him one of the more memorable ministers of the early ’80s.

Whelan was a long-time Liberal MP for the Essex-Windsor area and served as agriculture minister for Pierre Trudeau for over a decade, minus a nine-month break during Joe Clark’s short-lived Progressive Conservative government in 1979.

After federal politics, Whelan went on to work withe the U.N., the World Food Council and served as a senator until 1999, when he reached mandatory retirement age.

For more on Eugene Whelan’s political life, click here.

 

 

Wake up with RealAgriculture

Subscribe to our daily newsletters to keep you up-to-date with our latest coverage every morning.

Wake up with RealAgriculture

Please register to read and comment.

 

Register for a RealAgriculture account to manage your Shortcut menu instead of the default.

Register