Honourable Danny Williams
Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador
Danny Williams has served as Premier
of Newfoundland and Labrador since November 2003. Under his
leadership, the province has experienced: unprecedented economic
growth and activity; a substantial reduction in the provincial
debt; lower taxation rates; significantly increased benefits for
the citizens of the province in the development of natural
resources; and a progressive social agenda including nationally
acclaimed strategies on Poverty Reduction and Student Debt
Reform.
Premier Williams studied political science and economics at
Memorial University of Newfoundland. Awarded the Rhodes
Scholarship in 1969, he received a degree in Arts in Law from
Oxford University in England, and earned a Bachelor of Law
degree from Dalhousie University. He is a founding partner of
one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s preeminent law firms and was
appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1984. While pursuing his law
degree, Premier Williams also led a consortium of business
people seeking Newfoundland and Labrador’s first cable
television license. From 1975, he guided Cable Atlantic through
acquisitions of systems throughout the region to become one of
the largest communications companies in Atlantic Canada. Prior
to entering political life, he sold his communications company
in a multi-hundred million dollar transaction. Premier Williams
has also been a corporate leader in the oil and gas industry, in
the hospitality and tourism industry as founder and operator of
three golf courses and one hotel resort. He has been actively
involved in hockey as a player and coach, was the founder and
president of the St. John’s Junior Hockey League, was
instrumental in bringing the St. John’s Maple Leafs AHL team to
St. John’s, and served as a member of the Board of Governors of
the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. He has also served as Chair of
the Canadian Parliamentary Channel, Chair of the Newfoundland
and Labrador Film Development Corporation, Chair of the
Provincial Government Offshore Oil Impact Advisory Council, and
has served as a member of several charitable organizations such
as the Terry Fox Marathon of Hope, Big Brothers/Big Sisters,
Iris Kirby House, and the Arthritis Society. His private family
charity, The Williams Foundation, primarily provides assistance
to individual children with illnesses.
Premier Williams has four children and four grandchildren.
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