Frank Oberle Sr.

The Honourable
Frank Oberle
PC
Minister of Forestry
In office
February 23, 1990 – June 24, 1993
Prime MinisterBrian Mulroney
Preceded byJack Davis (1971)
Succeeded byBobbie Sparrow
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Prince George—Peace River
In office
October 30, 1972 – October 25, 1993
Preceded byRobert Borrie
Succeeded byJay Hill
Personal details
Born(1932-03-24)March 24, 1932
Forchheim, Baden, Germany
DiedSeptember 12, 2024(2024-09-12) (aged 92)
Squamish, British Columbia, Canada
Political partyProgressive Conservative
ChildrenFrank Oberle Jr.

Frank Oberle Sr. PC (March 24, 1932 – September 12, 2024) was a Canadian businessman and politician.[1]

Life and career

Born in Forchheim near Karlsruhe, Germany, Oberle moved with his family to German-occupied Poland in 1941. There he was placed in a Hitler Youth indoctrination program. Later, he fled the Red Army advance, surviving on grass and stolen eggs while walking 800 kilometres to his home village in the Black Forest. Rejected by his relatives, he immigrated to Canada at the age of 19 and became a logger and then a gold miner.

Oberle entered municipal politics, becoming mayor of Chetwynd. He entered federal politics and was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1972 general election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Prince George—Peace River, British Columbia. He subsequently won re-election five times.

In 1985, Oberle became the first German-born federal Canadian cabinet minister when he became Minister of State for Science and Technology in Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's government. He was science minister when the Canadarm went into space as part of the Space Shuttle program. He later became Minister of State for Forestry, and then Minister of Forestry in 1990.

Oberle retired from Cabinet when Kim Campbell succeeded Mulroney as Prime Minister, and retired from politics with the dissolution of the 34th Canadian Parliament for the 1993 election.

In 2004, Oberle published a memoir of his World War II experiences, Finding Home: A War Child’s Journey to Peace (2004). A second memoir, A Chosen Path: From Moccasin Flats to Parliament Hill, was published in the same year.

His son Frank Oberle Jr. was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 2004 provincial election, and was appointed Solicitor General on January 13, 2010.[2]

Oberle died on September 12, 2024, in Squamish, British Columbia, two weeks after his wife of Joan, at the age of 92.[3][4]

Electoral history

1988 Canadian federal election: Prince George—Peace River
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Frank Oberle Sr. 13,903 39.60 -22.84
New Democratic Alan Timberlake 11,684 33.28 +9.17
Reform Jay Hill 5,077 14.46 –
Liberal Jacques Monlezun 4,183 11.92 +1.97
Independent Howard Karpes 169 0.48 –
Confederation of Regions Lorne W. Backus 89 0.25 -0.74
Total valid votes 35,105 100.0  
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -16.00
1984 Canadian federal election: Prince George—Peace River
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Frank Oberle Sr. 21,154 62.44 +10.34
New Democratic Jim Best 8,168 24.11 -2.09
Liberal Paul Bouey 3,368 9.94 -9.39
Rhinoceros J. Paul Ekering 385 1.14 –
Social Credit Richard J. Lawrence 342 1.01 -1.37
Confederation of Regions John F. Light 335 0.99 –
Libertarian Sid Schneider 127 0.37 –
Total valid votes 33,879 100.0  
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +6.22
1984 Canadian federal election: Prince George—Peace River
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Frank Oberle Sr. 21,154 62.44 +10.34
New Democratic Jim Best 8,168 24.11 -2.09
Liberal Paul Bouey 3,368 9.94 -9.39
Rhinoceros J. Paul Ekering 385 1.14 –
Social Credit Richard J. Lawrence 342 1.01 -1.37
Confederation of Regions John F. Light 335 0.99 –
Libertarian Sid Schneider 127 0.37 –
Total valid votes 33,879 100.0  
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +6.22
1980 Canadian federal election: Prince George—Peace River
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Frank Oberle Sr. 13,593 52.10 -8.85
New Democratic Bob Simpson 6,835 26.20 +5.70
Liberal Jim McIntyre 5,044 19.33 +0.78
Social Credit Richard J. Lawrence 620 2.38 –
Total valid votes 26,092 100.0  
Progressive Conservative hold Swing -7.28
lop.parl.ca
1979 Canadian federal election: Prince George—Peace River
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Frank Oberle Sr. 16,288 60.95 +14.11
New Democratic Bob Simpson 5,478 20.50 +5.83
Liberal Les Broddy 4,957 18.55 -15.79
Total valid votes 26,723 100.0  
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +4.14
1974 Canadian federal election: Prince George—Peace River
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Frank Oberle Sr. 18,769 46.84 +7.48
Liberal Allan Bate 13,759 34.33 +2.72
New Democratic Stuart Robert Steventon 5,880 14.67 -7.03
Social Credit Wendell Philip Smith 1,665 4.15 -3.17
Total valid votes 40,073 100.0  
Progressive Conservative hold Swing +2.38
1972 Canadian federal election: Prince George—Peace River
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Progressive Conservative Frank Oberle Sr. 14,648 39.36 +9.66
Liberal Robert Borrie 11,766 31.62 -3.30
New Democratic Bill Close 8,076 21.70 -0.33
Social Credit Al Kruegar 2,726 7.32 -4.74
Total valid votes 37,216 100.0  
Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal Swing +6.48

References

  1. ^ "OBERLE, The Hon. Frank, P.C." Library of Parliament. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved February 20, 2010.
  2. ^ "Stelmach makes major changes to Alberta cabinet". National Post. Archived from the original on January 15, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2010.
  3. ^ Ernst, Trent (September 22, 2024). "Frank Oberle, former MP who described Tumbler Ridge as "a breeding ground of human misery" passes away - Tumbler RidgeLines". Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  4. ^ https://energeticcity.ca/2024/09/24/frank-oberle-sr-canadas-first-german-born-federal-minister-passes-away-at-92/

Bibliography