Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
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Description area
Dates of existence
History
Douglas Scott Harkness, 1903-1999, was born in Toronto and moved to Alberta with his family at an early age. He graduated with a BA from the University of Alberta, was a farmer, then a teacher at Crescent Heights High School in Calgary. He served overseas during the Second World War and was by decorated King George VI. A Progressive Conservative, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Calgary in 1945, and served as an MP until 1972. He served as Minister of Northern Affairs & Natural Resources, 1957, Minister of Agriculture, 1957-1960, and Minister of National Defence, 1960-1963. He resigned as Defence Minister in 1963 because of a disagreement with Prime Minister John Diefenbaker over nuclear arms.
He married Francis Elizabeth MacMillan in 1932 and they had one son, Kenneth Blair. In 1975 he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Calgary and in 1978 was awarded the Order of Canada. Douglas Harkness School in Calgary was named in his honour in 1976.