Angus MacLean

For other people of the same name, see Angus McLean (disambiguation).

The Honourable John Angus MacLean
25th Premier of Prince Edward Island
In office May 3, 1979 – November 17, 1981
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Lieutenant Governor	Gordon L. Bennett Joseph Aubin Doiron
Preceded by	W. Bennett Campbell
Succeeded by	James Lee
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Queen's
In office June 25, 1951 – June 25, 1968 Serving with Neil Matheson, Heath MacQuarrie
Preceded by	James Lester Douglas
Succeeded by	district abolished
Member of the Canadian Parliament for Malpeque
In office June 25, 1968 – October 20, 1976
Preceded by	district created
Succeeded by	Don Wood
Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island
In office September 25, 1976 – November 7, 1981
Preceded by	Lloyd MacPhail (interim)
Succeeded by	James Lee
MLA (Assemblyman) for 4th Queens
In office November 8, 1976 – September 27, 1982
Preceded by	Vernon MacIntyre
Succeeded by	Wilbur MacDonald
Personal details
Born	John Angus MacLean (1914-05-15)May 15, 1914 Lewes, PEI
Died	Charlottetown, PEI
Nationality	Canadian
Political party	Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island
Other political affiliations	Progressive Conservative
Spouse(s)	Gwendolyn Esther Burwash (m. 1952)
Children	Jean, Allan, Mary, and Robert
Residence	Charlottetown, PEI
Alma mater	Mount Allison University University of British Columbia
Occupation	Farmer
Profession	Politician
Cabinet	Federal: Ministers of Fisheries (1957–1963) Postmaster General (acting) (1962–1963) Provincial: Minister Responsible for Cultural Affairs (1979–1980)
Religion	Presbyterians

John Angus MacLean, PC, OC, DFC (15 May 1914 – 15 February 2000) was a politician and farmer in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

He was an alumnus of both Mount Allison University and the University of British Columbia with degrees in science. MacLean left farming to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, serving from 1939–1947 and achieving the rank of Wing Commander.

MacLean's bomber was shot down, and he evaded capture in Nazi-occupied Europe with the help of the Belgian escape-line Comète with Andrée De Jongh.

MacLean returned to Prince Edward Island after the war, and ran for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons as a Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidate, but was defeated in the 1945 and 1949 federal elections.

He was first elected to Parliament in a 1951 by-election and held his seat continuously until he left federal politics in 1976. MacLean served in the cabinet of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker as Minister of Fisheries from 1957 until the government's defeat in the 1963 election.

In 1976, MacLean was persuaded to leave federal politics and take the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island which had languished in opposition for a decade. On 8 November 1976, MacLean was elected to the provincial legislature in a by-election. MacLean led the party to victory in 1979, and formed a government that emphasized rural community life, banned new shopping malls and instituted a Royal Commission to examine land use and sprawl. His government cancelled the province's participation in the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station in New Brunswick.

On 17 August 1981, MacLean announced his intention to resign as premier upon the election of a new party leader. MacLean retired as premier on 17 November 1981, when James Lee was sworn-in as his successor and did not run in the 1982 provincial election. He returned to the family farm that he redeveloped for low-intensity blueberry farming. A respected steward of the land and of rural communities, MacLean was a committed Presbyterian of Scottish descent. In 1991, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

He died in Charlottetown on 15 February 2000.

External links

• Order of Canada citation
• Angus MacLean – Parliament of Canada biography