| The Honourable Darin King Ph.D, MHA |
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|---|---|
| Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture of Newfoundland and Labrador |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office October 28, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Clyde Jackman |
| Member of the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly for Grand Bank |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office November 1, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Judy Foote |
| Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment of Newfoundland and Labrador |
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| In office January 2011 – October 28, 2011 |
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| Preceded by | Joan Burke (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Department eliminated |
| Minister of Education of Newfoundland and Labrador | |
| In office 2009–2011 |
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| Preceded by | Joan Burke |
| Succeeded by | Joan Burke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Grand Bank, Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
| Spouse(s) | Colleen King |
| Residence | Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador |
| Occupation | School Administrator |
| Website | darinking.ca |
Darin King MHA, (born August 17) is a Canadian politician in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. King is the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture in the cabinet of Kathy Dunderdale, and is the Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for the district of Grand Bank.
King was elected to the House of Assembly in the 2007 provincial election and was re-elected in 2011. He has previously held the posts of Minister of Education and Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment. Prior to entering politics, King was director of education for the Eastern School District of Newfoundland and Labrador, the province's largest school district.[1]
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King was born in Grand Bank, Newfoundland and Labrador and raised in the community of Fortune on Newfoundland's Burin Peninsula.[2] He attended Memorial University of Newfoundland where he was awarded a Bachelor of Education degree and a diploma in School Resources Services. He went on to study at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he earned a Master of Education degree. King also has a Business Ph.D, in human resource, from Northcentral University in Arizona.[3]
King has lived most of his life in Grand Bank but he now resides in Conception Bay South with his wife Colleen and their two teenage children, Mitchell and Kate.[4]
King taught at all levels in the K-12 school system and went on to work for five years as a school administrator. After this he worked with the Burin Peninsula School Board where he spent four years as the assistant director of education (programs) and another two years as the associate assistant director (human resources). King joined the newly created Eastern School District in 2004 as the assistant director of education (programs) and he eventually became the CEO/Director of Education with the school board.[5]
In addition to his professional experience, King is active in numerous sports and community organizations. He is a past chair of the Grand Bank Recreation Commission, a former board member of the Newfoundland and Labrador Parks and Recreation Association, and a past chair of the Grand Bank Development Corporation.[5]
In May 2003, King defeated Gordon Dunphy to win the Tory nomination in the district of Grand Bank for the upcoming Newfoundland and Labrador provincial election. The Progressive Conservatives won the October 2003 election but King was defeated by incumbent Liberal cabinet Minister Judy Foote, by a margin of 43 votes.[6]
In 2007, King was acclaimed as the Tory candidate in Grand Bank and was granted special leave by the Eastern School District until October's election.[7] King won his seat in the election after securing 80.03% of the vote over the Liberal candidate.[8]
Following the election King became the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education.[9] He also served on the House of Assembly Social Services Budget Estimates Committee, and on December 9, 2008 was appointed to the Public Accounts Committee.
On April 9, 2009, King was sworn in as Minister of Education, succeeding Joan Burke.[10]
King faced criticism from the hard of hearing community in the Summer of 2010 when he announced that the Newfoundland School for the Deaf would not be reopening in September. The school's enrollment had steadily declined over the years due to advancements in medicine and technology and no students were set to attend the school.[11] Students, former students and their parents spoke out against the closing of the school and several students said that government was forcing them to attend public schools.[12]
On January 13, 2011, premier Kathy Dunderdale shuffled King out of the Education portfolio, replacing him with his predecessor Joan Burke, and appointed him as the Minister of Human, Resources, Labour and Employment.[13]
King has been seen as possible leadership candidate for the Progressive Conservatives since entering politics and following the resignation of Premier Danny Williams in December 2010 he stated that he may run to succeed him.[14] On December 22, 2010, King announced that he would not be seeking the leadership of the party at this time due to his young family and that he would be encouraging Premier Kathy Dunderdale to run for the leadership of the party on a permanent basis.[15]
| Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2011 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Progressive Conservative | Darin King | 3,271 | 68.52 | -11.51 | |
| Liberal | Carol Anne Haley | 1,336 | 27.98 | +8.01 | |
| NDP | Wally Layman | 167 | 3.5 | +3.5 | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2007[16] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Progressive Conservative | Darin King | 3563 | 80.03 | +31.5 | |
| Liberal | Rod Cake | 889 | 19.97 | -29.35 | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2003[17] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal | Judy Foote | 3101 | 49.32 | -20.86 | |
| Progressive Conservative | Darin King | 3058 | 48.53 | -28.24 | |
| NDP | Bill Wakeley | 136 | 2.15 | -7.37 | |
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