31 Facts About Eugene Whelan

Eugene Whelan was Minister of Agriculture under Pierre Trudeau from 1972 to 1984, and became one of Canada's best-known politicians.

Eugene Whelan was born in Amherstburg, Ontario, the middle of nine children born to Irish-Canadian farmers Charles B Whelan and Frances L Kelly.

At 16, Whelan quit school and worked for a time as a welder and tool and die maker before returning to farming.

In 1960, Eugene Whelan married Elizabeth Pollinger and they had a family.

Eugene Whelan went into politics, being elected and serving in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan.

Eugene Whelan entered municipal politics at age 21 and surprisingly won an election to the separate school board of Anderdon Township, which administered Catholic schools.

Eugene Whelan was next elected as councillor and eventually reeve of the township council, becoming warden of the Essex County council in 1962.

Eugene Whelan ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Ontario assembly in 1959.

Eugene Whelan became a director and president of the Harrow Farmer's Co-operative, served on the boards of United Co-operatives of Ontario and the Co-operators Insurance Company, and was a founding member of the Ontario Wheat Producers' Marketing Board and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

Eugene Whelan first won a seat in the House of Commons in the 1962 election, representing the southwestern Ontario riding of Essex, and held it until his retirement in 1984.

Eugene Whelan ran to succeed Trudeau at the 1984 Liberal leadership convention, but came in last.

In 1996, Eugene Whelan was appointed to the Senate by Jean Chretien, and served in the chamber until he reached the mandatory retirement age of 75 in 1999.

Eugene Whelan once recalled a time when his qualifications for Minister were questioned:.

Eugene Whelan was successful in getting the Canadian government to increase its support for farmers, through amendments to the Agricultural Stabilization Act and the introduction of the Western Grain Stabilization Act.

Eugene Whelan opened markets in the Soviet Union for Canadian wheat, and established legislation to protect fruit and vegetable growers from processor bankruptcies.

Eugene Whelan restricted the powers of the Canadian Wheat Board, allowing private-sector feed grain trading and inter-provincial movement of feed.

Eugene Whelan said this refusal contributed to the success of the Parti Quebecois in rural ridings that fall.

The relationship became so close that Pierre Trudeau called him in to get assurance that Eugene Whelan had not divulged any national secrets, as the minister was a member of the Cabinet defence committee.

When Mikhail Gorbachev, then Soviet Minister of Agriculture, came to Canada in 1983, Yakovlev connected Gorbachev with Eugene Whelan, who arranged a three-week tour across Canada for both Soviet officials, accompanied personally by Eugene Whelan.

In 2013 Jean Chretien recalled Eugene Whelan introducing Gorbachev to Canadian life when the tour came to Windsor:.

Eugene Whelan frankly talked about the problems in the internal situation in Russia.

Eugene Whelan was saying that under these conditions, the conditions of dictatorship and absence of freedom, the country would simply perish.

Eugene Whelan was once host of the Agricultural Hour on CFRA in Ottawa.

Eugene Whelan served as president of the United Nations World Food Council from 1983 to 1985.

Eugene Whelan was appointed as Canadian ambassador to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome.

Eugene Whelan actively participated in the Agri-Energy Roundtable, an international non-governmental organization which forged a dialogue between food-surplus and energy-surplus nations, their private sectors, and multilateral agencies.

Eugene Whelan joined AER's Committee of Honor and rose to become AER's vice chairman.

Susan Eugene Whelan went into politics and was elected to the House of Commons in 1993 in her father's old riding.

Eugene Whelan was dropped from Cabinet with the change of administrations when Paul Martin became prime minister.

Eugene Whelan died at his home in Amherstburg on February 19,2013, following complications from heart disease and colon cancer.

Eugene Whelan's funeral was held on February 23,2013, at St John The Baptist Church in Amherstburg, and he was buried in the church cemetery.