Laureen Harper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Laureen Harper | |
 |
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| Born | Laureen Ann Teskey 1963 (age 45–46) Turner Valley, Alberta, Canada |
|---|---|
| Other names | Laureen Teskey Harper, Laureen Ann Teskey |
| Citizenship | Canadian |
| Alma mater | Southern Alberta Institute of Technology |
| Title | Current Spouse of the Prime Minister of Canada |
| Religious beliefs | United Church of Canada |
| Spouse(s) | Stephen Harper (since December 1993), Neil Fenton (1985-1988) |
| Children | Benjamin Harper (born 1996), Rachel Harper (born 1999) |
| Parents | Her father, Dennis, was an electrician, her mother, Barbara, a housewife. |
Laureen Ann Teskey Harper (born 1963) is the wife of Stephen Harper, who is leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Prime Minister of Canada since February 6, 2006. The eldest of three, Teskey was born in Turner Valley, a rural town south-west of Calgary, Alberta. Her parents were ranchers and owned an electrical contracting company; the Teskeys divorced in 1991, after 29 years.
After graduating from Oilfields High School, she attended the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology where she studied journalism and photography.[1]
She was first married to New Zealander Neil Fenton from 1985 to 1988.[2]
Teskey joined the Reform Party of Canada in the late 1980s, and met Stephen Harper at the Reform assembly in Saskatoon in 1990. They married in 1993. Some of Harper's earliest political contemporaries, including Jim Hawkes, Preston Manning and Deborah Grey, have said that the 'intensely cerebral' Stephen Harper appreciably 'mellowed' after their marriage.[3] Media reports have generally credited her as far more personable and friendly in front of the cameras than her husband.
Teskey offers her home to the OHS as a foster home for kittens, and in her spare time enjoys riding her motorcycle.
Teskey and her husband have two children, Ben (born 1996) and Rachel (born 1999). They attended Rockcliffe Park Public School, in Ottawa.
[edit] Name
There was considerable confusion in the Canadian media about which surname she uses — at different times, media references to her have called her Teskey, Harper or Teskey Harper (not hyphenated). On January 26, 2006, she advised Canadian Press that she wishes to be known as Laureen Harper in her public role as a spouse of the Prime Minister.[4]
Maureen McTeer, the wife of former Prime Minister Joe Clark, also found some controversy in 1979 when she became the first wife of a Prime Minister to use her own surname rather than her husband's.
[edit] References
- ^ Gignac, Tamara, "From Turner Valley to 24 Sussex Dr.", Calgary Herald, p. A1, January 28, 2006.
- ^ Kingston, Anne, "Wife of the party", Maclean's, August 13, 2007
- ^ Ryan, Carolyn, "Stephen Harper and the road to power", CBC.ca
- ^ "It's 'Mrs. Harper', thank you", Toronto Star, January 26, 2006
[edit] External links
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sheila Cowan Martin |
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Canada 2006-present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
