John Hamm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dr. John Frederick Hamm | |
 The Hon. John Hamm |
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| In office August 16, 1999 – February 24, 2006 |
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| Preceded by | Russell MacLellan |
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| Succeeded by | Rodney MacDonald |
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| Born | April 08 1938 (age 68) New Glasgow, Nova Scotia |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Spouse | Genesta Hamm |
| Religion | Anglican |
John Frederick Hamm, MLA, MD (born April 8, 1938) is a Canadian physician and politician and was the 31st premier of Nova Scotia, Canada.
Hamm, a graduate of the University of King's College and Dalhousie University, was a family doctor in his hometown of Stellarton, Nova Scotia, and the president of the Nova Scotia Medical Society. He entered politics in 1993, becoming the Member of the House of Assembly for the riding of Pictou Centre.
Hamm became leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia in 1995, succeeding Terry Donahoe. His party won 14 seats in the 1998 provincial election and held the balance of power in a minority government where both the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party, led by Russell MacLellan and Robert Chisholm, respectively, each had nineteen seats. Hamm's Tories defeated the Liberal minority government on a budget vote on June 17, 1999, in the subsequent election on July 27, 1999, Hamm became the new Premier, winning 30 of the 52 seats in the provincial legislature.
After taking office, Hamm sold or closed government-owned industries such as Sydney Steel. He invested more in education and health care, and implemented some tax cuts. His government was the first to truly balance the provinces books in 25 years.
In 2001 Hamm was at odds with the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, trying to legislate nurses back to work after a legal strike.
In the 2003 election Hamm's Progressive Conservatives were reduced to a minority government. The main issue in that election was the increasing cost of car insurance and whether Nova Scotia should begin to allow general Sunday shopping. Despite the minority government Hamm's government was able to drop an NDP plan for government automobile insurance issue, and put the Sunday shopping issue to a province-wide plebiscite. Hamm is opposed to Sunday shopping and a public auto insurance system.
His most notable achievement was negotiating an $840 million payment from the Federal government and applying all of it to the provincial debt.
On September 29, 2005 Hamm surprised Nova Scotia by announcing his intention to retire as Premier and PC Leader. He had been expected to call an election in fall of 2005. In the Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative leadership convention 2006, Rodney MacDonald was elected his successor.
On December 21, 2006, Hamm was appointed Chairperson of Assisted Human Reproduction Canada, a federal agency created to protect and promote the health and safety, human dignity and human rights of Canadians who use or are born of assisted human reproduction technologies, and to foster ethical principles in relation to assisted human reproduction and other related matters.
| Preceded by Russell MacLellan |
Premier of Nova Scotia 1999–2006 |
Succeeded by Rodney MacDonald |
| Premiers of Nova Scotia |  |
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| Colonial: Uniacke | Young | Johnston | Young | Howe | Johnston | Tupper
Provincial: | Tupper | Blanchard | Annand | Hill | Holmes | Thompson | Pipes | Fielding | Murray | Armstrong | Rhodes | Harrington | Macdonald | MacMillan | Macdonald | Connolly | Hicks | Stanfield | Smith | Regan | Buchanan | Bacon | Cameron | Savage | MacLellan | Hamm | MacDonald |
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