Norman Kwong
Categories: 1929 births | Lieutenant Governors of Alberta | Chinese Canadians | Members of the Order of Canada | Canadian Football League players | Calgarians
His Honour the Honourable Norman Kwong, CM, AOE, né Lim Kwong Yew, (林佐民, pinyin: Lín Zuǒmín), (born 1929 in Calgary, Alberta) is a former professional athlete and is the current Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.
Sports
After playing football in Western Canada High School, he went on to play for the Calgary Stampeders and then the Edmonton Eskimos, in the Canadian Football League. Nicknamed the "China Clipper", he won four Grey Cups during his CFL career and was the first Chinese Canadian to play in the league. He was named Canadian Athlete of the Year in 1955. He was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 1969, the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1975 and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.
He is also a past president and general manager of the Calgary Stampeders, also of the Canadian Football League. He was a co-owner of the Calgary Flames in 1989 when they won their first Stanley Cup.
Public service
After his career as an athlete, his public stature from sports, helped him move on to politics and government. In 1971 he ran for the Alberta Progressive Conservatives in Calgary Millican, failing to join his party when it almost swept Calgary and the rest of the province.
In 1988 Kwong was made a Member of the Order of Canada and has served as the national chairman of the Canadian Consultative Council on Multiculturalism.
Appointed to the post of Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta on January 20, 2005, Kwong replaced Lois Hole, who died in office on January 6, 2005. Kwong welcomed Queen Elizabeth II to Alberta in June 2005 on a visit comemorating Alberta's first 100 years in confederation.
References
- CBC News - Jan 19 2005: Ex-footballer Normie Kwong Alberta's new lieutenant-governor
- Yahoo.ca! News - Jan 19 2005: Sports legend Norman Kwong appointed next Alberta lieutenant-governor
- Office of the Lieutenant Governor
- CCNC - Chinese Canadians - Normie Kwong
- Government of Alberta News Release - Jan 19 2005: Premier Klein praises choice of new Lieutenant Governor
| Preceded by: {{{before}}}}|before=Lois Hole}} | {{{title}}} {{{years}}}}|title=Alberta lieutenant-governor|years=2005-}} | Succeeded by: {{{after}}} |