Wally Johannson: Difference between revisions

'''Thorkell Wallace (Wally) Johannson''' (born April 10, 1936<ref name="members"/>)<ref name="geysir"/> is a [[Canadians|Canadian]] former [[politician]]. He was a [[New Democratic Party of Manitoba|New Democratic]] member of the [[Legislative Assembly of Manitoba]] from 1969 to 1973.<ref name="members">{{cite web |url=http://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/members/mla_bio_living.html#j |title=MLA Biographies - Living |publisher=Legislative Assembly of Manitoba |accessdate=2014-01-11}}</ref>▼

Born in [[Arborg, Manitoba|Arborg]], [[Manitoba]], the son of Thorkell Johannson and Gudrun Sigvaldason,<ref name="geysir"/> Johannson was educated at the [[University of Manitoba]], and worked as a high school history teacher before entering political life. He was a member of the Manitoba Historical Society and the Icelandic Canadian Club, among other voluntary organizations. He was the victim of a home invasion in early 1969, and was wounded in a shotgun blast.<ref>''Winnipeg Free Press'', 8 February 1969, p. 3.</ref> In 1970, Johannson married Cheryl Taychuk.<ref name="geysir">{{cite web |url=http://manitobia.ca/resources/books/local_histories/090.pdf |page=231 |title=Faith and Fortitude: A History of the Geysir District 1880s - 1980s |ISBN=0-919673-29-5 |year=1983 |author=Geysir Historical Society |accessdate=2014-01-11}}</ref>▼

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the [[Manitoba general election, 1969|1969 provincial election]], defeating incumbent [[Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba|Progressive Conservative]] MLA and future [[Winnipeg, Manitoba|Winnipeg]] [[mayor]] [[Robert Steen]] in the riding of [[St. Matthews (Manitoba riding)|St. Matthews]]. He was re-elected with an increased majority in the [[Manitoba general election, 1973|election of 1973]].<ref name="members"/>▼

Johannson did not serve in the [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]] of [[Edward Schreyer]]. In the [[Manitoba general election, 1977|1977 election]], he lost his seat to Tory candidate [[Len Domino]]<ref name="members"/> by 124 votes. He returned to educational work after his defeat.▼

Johannson was initially an ally of Schreyer, but became more closely associated with leadership contender [[Sidney Green (politician)|Sidney Green]] as the decade progressed. He attended an early meeting of Green's [[Progressive Party of Manitoba (II)|Progressive Party]] in 1981, though his loyalty to the NDP ultimately stopped him from joining.▼

==References==▼