Pat Nelson

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Patricia "Pat" Nelson née Black is a former provincial level politician from Alberta, Canada. She previously served as Minister of Finance and Member of the Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 2004.

[edit] Political career

Black was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the first time in the 1989 Alberta general election. She won the Calgary Foothills electoral district in a hotly contested three way election holding it for the Progressive Conservatives. She won her second term in office in the 1993 Alberta general election winning her second term in a landslide. Nelson won her third term in office defeating former Calgary East MLA Albert Ludwig and two other candidates by a large majority.^[1]

Black married former Calgary McCall MLA Stan Nelson in February 1998 and changed her last name to Nelson.^[2]

Nelson ran for her fourth term in office winning a massive landslide defeating future Liberal MLA Harry Chase and another candidate.^[3]

During her years as finance minister for Premier Ralph Klein Nelson oversaw the retirement of the Alberta provincial debt that had been created during the administrations of Peter Lougheed and Don Getty. The retirement of the debt and positive economy allowed for her successors to set records in spending.^[4]