Ursula Appolloni

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ursula Appolloni (December 7, 1929 - December 29, 1994) was a Canadian Member of Parliament (MP).

Appolloni is best known for her upset victory against New Democratic Party leader David Lewis in the riding York South in the 1974 federal election. Appolloni beat Lewis by 1863 votes, ending Lewis' political career. At his defeat, Lewis joked "One of the basic democratic rights is the right for the people to be wrong[1]."

She remained the Liberal Party MP for York South and its successor riding, York South—Weston, until she retired at the 1984 federal election. She was a backbencher for most of her parliamentary career, except for serving as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence from 1980 to 1982.

Appolloni was born in Ireland, and served in Britain's Women's Royal Air Force from 1948 to 1950 before moving to Canada. Prior to entering politics, she was a housewife and freelance writer. Her husband, Lucio Appolloni, had been the Liberal candidate in York South in the 1972 election. He lost to Lewis by almost 5,000 votes.

[edit] External links