| The Honourable Henry Davies Hicks MLA, CC, QC |
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|---|---|
| 16th Premier of Nova Scotia | |
| In office September 30, 1954 – November 20, 1956 |
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| Preceded by | Harold Connolly |
| Succeeded by | Robert L. Stanfield |
| MLA for Annapolis | |
| In office 1945–1960 |
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| Preceded by | John Douglas McKenzie |
| Succeeded by | district dissolved |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 5, 1915 Bridgetown, Nova Scotia |
| Died | December 9, 1990 |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | Pauline Banks Gene Morrison |
Henry Davies Hicks (March 5, 1915 – December 9, 1990) was a lawyer, university administrator, and politician in Nova Scotia.
He was born in Bridgetown, Nova Scotia, the son of Henry Hicks and Annie Kinney. Hicks was educated in Bridgetown and at Mount Allison University, Dalhousie University and Oxford University. He was admitted to the Nova Scotia bar in 1941. During World War II, he served as a captain in the Royal Canadian Artillery.
Hicks was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1945 as a Liberal for Annapolis County and served as Nova Scotia's first Minister of Education from 1949 to 1954 in the government of Angus L. Macdonald. When Macdonald died, Hicks ran for the Liberal party leadership against interim leader and then Premier Harold Connolly. The party was badly split along religious lines with Protestants uniting behind Hicks to defeat Connolly who was a Roman Catholic. As the new Premier, Hicks was unable to unite the party and his government was defeated in the 1956 election by Robert Stanfield's Progressive Conservatives.
Hicks resigned as Leader of the opposition in 1960 and took the post of Dean of Arts and Science at Dalhousie University. He later became a Vice President of the school and then President in 1963. He served as President until August 31, 1980 and is recognized as transforming Dalhousie University from a tiny "College By the Sea" into a leading national research university.
During Hicks' tenure, the campus underwent a complete transformation as new facilities were built, expanded, or acquired for all areas of the university from academics and research to arts and athletics as well as student housing. In September 2002, the Henry Hicks Academic Administration Building was named after him.
In 1949, Hicks married Pauline Banks; they had four children. In 1965, he married Gene Morrison.
In 1970, Hicks was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. On April 27, 1972, he was appointed to the Senate of Canada by Pierre Trudeau, and served in that capacity until his retirement on March 5, 1990.
On the night of 9 December 1990, Hicks and his wife Gene were returning to Bridgetown from a Christmas party in Halifax when their vehicle crossed the centre line of Highway 101 and struck an oncoming car carrying a family of four (husband and wife and their two children). Hicks and his wife were killed, along with the mother and one of the children in the other vehicle; it was later determined that both Hicks and his wife had a blood alcohol content that was above the legal limit.
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