Lincoln Alexander
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Lincoln MacCauley Alexander, P.C. , C.C. , O.Ont. , Q.C. , LL.B. , LL.D. , (born January 21, 1922, in Toronto, Ontario), served as Ontario's 24th Lieutenant Governor from 1985 - 1991.
Born to West Indian immigrants to Canada, Lincoln Alexander first distinguished himself by serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the second World War. He then became Canada's first black Member of Parliament when he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1968 as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, representing the riding of Hamilton West.
Lincoln Alexander held the seat for the next four successive elections. In 1976 and 1978 he served as an observer to the United Nations. Under the brief government of Joe Clark in 1979-1980, Alexander served as Minister of Labour. He resigned his seat in 1980 to serve as the head of the Worker's Compensation Board.
Lincoln Alexander was selected by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney as the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, in 1985, the first black person to serve in a vice-regal position in Canada. During his term in office he concentrated on bringing attention to education and youth issues.
After his departure from office in 1991, Alexander was awarded the Order of Ontario, and made a Companion of the Order of Canada. He remains an active spokesman on race relations and veterans' issues, and is the Chancellor of the University of Guelph.
The Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway, a freeway through Hamilton, was named in his honour, though Lincoln Alexander has never held a driver's license of his own. Lincoln Alexander Public School has also been named after him (opened in 2005 and has been quite unpopular though).
See also
| Preceded by: Joseph Macaluso | Member of Parliament for Hamilton West 1968-1980 | Succeeded by: Stanley Hudecki |
| Preceded by: John Black Aird | List of Lieutenant Governors of Ontario 1985-1991 | Succeeded by: Henry N. R. Jackman |