Asger Rye "Red" Pedersen, sometimes Asgar Rye Pederson, (born 1935, Denmark) is a former territorial level politician. As a young man in 1953, he got a job in the Canadian Arctic with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut (then the Northwest Territories). In 1954, he was sent to Perry River (Kuugjuak) to assist Stephen Angulalik, the Ahiarmiut Inuit owner of the trading post, with the financial records, inventory and ordering, as Angulalik spoke no English. In 1957, Angulalik sold the Perry River post to the HBC and Pedersen was appointed manager. Angulalik returned to the post after resolving legal problems and worked alongside Pedersen; they became lifelong friends.[1][2][3][4]
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Ten years later, Pedersen became an area administrator for the Canadian government in Coppermine, Pangnirtung and Fort Rae. From 1983-1991, he was a member of the Northwest Territories Legislature. Pedersen was first elected to the Northwest Territories Legislature in the 1983 Northwest Territories general election, winning the Kitikmeot West electoral district. He was re-elected in the 1987 Northwest Territories general election. Pedersen was elected Speaker of the Assembly on November 12, 1987 and served that role until October 18, 1989.[5]
In 2001, he was one of three members of the Legislative Assembly of the NWT's "Independent Commission on Members Compensation". Pedersen was a Board Member and Chairperson of the Independent Environmental Monitoring Agency until his retirement in 2003.[6][7]
While Red Pedersen is now retired from the Canadian Rangers, his son and grandson continue the tradition.[8][9]
| Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New District |
MLA Kitikmeot West 1983-1991 |
Succeeded by District Abolished |
| Preceded by Donald Morton Stewart |
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Northwest Territories 1987-1989 |
Succeeded by Richard Nerysoo |