CANADA
PRIME MINISTER STEPHEN HARPER

Stephen Harper was sworn in as Canada's 22nd Prime Minister on February 6, 2006.

Mr. Harper was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1993 federal election as the Reform Party's candidate in Calgary West. He left Parliament in 1997 to become Vice President (and later President) of the National Citizens' Coalition, a prominent Canadian advocacy organization. In 2002, he became Leader of the Opposition after winning the leadership of the Canadian Alliance and a subsequent by-election in Calgary Southwest.

In 2003, Mr. Harper co-founded the Conservative Party of Canada and went on to contest and win the new party's leadership.

As Conservative leader, Mr. Harper ran in the 2004 federal election and increased the Conservatives' standing in the House of Commons by 25 seats, including an important breakthrough in Ontario. On January 23, 2006, Mr. Harper led the Conservative Party to power by winning 124 seats in Canada's 39th federal election.

As Prime Minister, Mr. Harper is committed to building a Canada that remains strong, united, independent and free. He is committed to enacting accountability measures for government, lowering taxes for working families, reforming the criminal justice system, helping parents cope with the costs of child care and negotiating a patient wait times guarantee with the provinces.

Stephen Harper was born on April 30, 1959, in Toronto, Ontario. He moved to Alberta in 1978 to work in the petroleum industry and went on to obtain both a bachelor's and a master's degree in economics from the University of Calgary. Stephen Harper is an honorary member of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. Mr. Harper and his wife, Laureen (Teskey) Harper, have two children, Benjamin and Rachel, and maintain a permanent home in Calgary.

Information from the official Prime Minister's Website: http://www1.pm.gc.ca/