Nancy Wright

Nancy Carolyn Wright (born October 3, 1946 in Kirkenes) was the fifteenth Prime Minister of Kelssek between 1980 and 1988 and the leader of the Liberal Party of Kelssek from 1977 to her retirement from politics in 1988. Her term as Prime Minister is most remembered for the vision of "total progress" which sought to promote a "better society", although political opponents often portrayed this vision as "social engineering".

Education and early career

Nancy Wright grew up in the Kirkenes suburb of Missisauga and was educated at Lionsgate University where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education. She taught in secondary schools before deciding to run for city council. She was elected to the Missisauga city council in 1970 and soon joined the federal Liberal Party, winning the Missisauga-Erindale seat in the 1972 elections, and was made the opposition critic for education policy in 1976.

Prime Minister

Wright's victory in the Liberal leadership convention of 1979 was surprising given that she was relatively young and much newer to politics than her rivals. Nevertheless, her outspoken attitude and "willingness to offend" is thought to have struck a chord among party supporters and voters tired of the staid, conservative political style which was pervasive at the time.

Wright won a majority against Luc Deschamps's Conservatives in the 1980 elections and became Prime Minister. She was an outspoken proponent of civil liberties, gay rights, and the anti-war movement. One of her first acts was to dismantle most of Kelssek's nuclear arsenal and begin a phased reduction of military expenditure, which she said was diverting funds from more important uses. Soon after, she announced a federal government subsidy for child care and made university free for all students who were accepted for admission. She successfully won re-election in 1984.

However, a growing challenge was coming from the left, and the Green Party was eating away at Liberal support as environmental issues grew in importance. The Liberal Party had just four more seats than the Greens after the 1988 elections and Green leader Paul Ronning, sensing an opportunity, demanded that he would be Prime Minister if any deal was to be made. Not wanting to prompt another election or be "demoted" she decided to leave politics instead and announced her resignation as Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader.

Legacy

After Wright's retirement from politics, she decided to pursue further education at the Victoria University of Neorvins, obtaining an MA degree. She is currently a full-time lecturer teaching political science at the university. In 1994, she was made a Companion of the Order of the Maple Leaves for "conspicuous public service to the people of Kelssek, in particular the promotion of education among the people".