Often called the best premier the province never had…former provincial Liberal leader, cabinet minister and Lieutenant Governor Ed Roberts has passed away at the age of 81.
A lawyer by profession, Roberts started his political career as the executive assistant to former Premier Joey Smallwood.
He was first elected to the House of Assembly in 1966 in the District of White Bay North, and was reelected to the district of Strait of Belle Isle five more times.
He served as Minister of Public Welfare and the Minister of Health under Smallwood and later as Minister of Justice and Attorney General under Premier Clyde Wells and later Premier Brian Tobin in the 1990s. He served as party leader and leader of the Liberal opposition in the 1970s.
He was the only person to serve as a cabinet minister under the province’s first three Liberal governments. He was appointed as Lieutenant Governor in 2002.
He was a passionate historian and genealogist, and was named as a Member to the Order of Canada in 2009.
Our province has lost a remarkable person in Ed Roberts, who served the public for decades. I turned to Ed for advice, and we enjoyed lively conversations about our province.
On behalf of all of us, I send condolences to his family and friends.https://t.co/NGn1T1nOa5 pic.twitter.com/eiHWA6q8oO
— Premier of NL (@PremierofNL) January 14, 2022
Roberts Remembered Fondly
Premier Andrew Furey is offering his condolences on the passing of Ed Roberts—saying the province has lost a “remarkable person.”
Furey says in his four years in public service he oversaw “considerable reform in healthcare, education and social services,” and was well-respected in the legal community.
Furey says he often turned to Roberts for sage advice and the two enjoyed lively conversations about the province.
Opposition Leader David Brazil says Roberts “stood among the giants of the political history of Newfoundland and Labrador.”
MP and Cabinet minister Seamus O`Regan, who was Roberts’ executive assistant in the early 1990`s, agrees that he was the best premier that we never had.
Most important to him during his MHA years, according to O`Regan, was his constituents.
If a constituent called Roberts directly and told him that he was unsatisfied with his EA`s efforts, O`Regan says he would be very concerned because his boss put his constituents first.
Flags at provincial government buildings will be lowered to half-mast until sunset on the day of Roberts’ funeral.
