# Gene Zwozdesky

Eugene Zwozdesky MLA (July 24, 1948 – January 6, 2019) was a Canadian politician in the province of Alberta. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1993 to 2015, and was the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2012 to 2015.

## Early life

Zwozdesky was born on July 24, 1948, in Nipawin, Saskatchewan, to Ukrainian-Canadian parents Alec and Anna Zwozdesky and came to Alberta at the age of two. He lived in Grand Centre, Hinton and Sangudo before moving to Edmonton, where he lived since 1963. After attending Victoria Composite High School, he obtained bachelor's degrees in arts and education from the University of Alberta. Before becoming involved in politics, Zwozdesky worked as a teacher, administrator, professional musician, and businessman.

## Political career

Zwozdesky was first elected in the 1993 Alberta general election as the Alberta Liberal Party's candidate, defeating incumbent Marie Laing of the Alberta New Democratic Party. He was re-elected to the new riding of Edmonton-Mill Creek in the 1997 Alberta general election.
In July 1998, he left the Liberal Party caucus and sat as an Independent member after a dispute over fiscal policy. He joined the governing Progressive Conservatives a month later. In the 2001 Alberta general election, he won by a generous margin over the Liberal challenger Bharat Agnihotri.
Zwozdesky was appointed to the cabinet as Minister of Community Development; after being re-elected in the 2004 Alberta general election, he was appointed Minister of Education.
On December 15, 2006, Zwozdesky was replaced in Premier Ed Stelmach's cabinet by Ron Liepert. He again joined the Alberta Cabinet on June 27, 2007, as Associate Minister for Capital Planning. In 2008, he was the Minister of Aboriginal Relations and Deputy Government House Leader. He was also co-chair of the Advisory Council on Alberta-Ukraine Relations, co-chair of the Cabinet Policy Committee on Public Safety and Services, and a member of the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections, Standing Orders and Printing.
Zwozdesky has won numerous awards from cultural and arts organizations, as well as the 2005 Alberta Centennial Medal.
Zwozdesky was re-elected in the 2012 provincial election as an incumbent PC candidate. He was defeated in the 2015 Alberta general election by Alberta NDP candidate Denise Woollard.

## Personal life and death

Zwozdesky joined the Ukrainian Shumka Dancers in 1963, and danced in the troupe for six years before becoming the musical director, composing and conducting Shumka's music for twenty-five years; he also served in the same role for the Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company. He was involved in various other cultural organizations, was the executive director of the Alberta Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Alberta Ukrainian Canadian Centennial Commission, and has served on various voluntary boards. He was married to Christine, with two children.
He died of cancer on January 6, 2019, aged 70.

## Electoral record

vte1993 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Avonmore :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Gene Zwozdesky | 6,728 | 52.67% | 24.59% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Ken Alyluia | 3,433 | 26.88% | -3.33% |
| | New Democratic | Marie Laing | 2,190 | 17.15% | -24.56% |
| | Social Credit | Leslie M. Jackson | 285 | 2.23% | – |
| | Greens | Dennis Clark | 97 | 0.76% | – |
| | Natural Law | Lucia Hoff | 40 | 0.31% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 12,773 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | Rejected, spoiled, and declined | 28 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 22,055 | 58.04% | – |
| | Liberal gain from New Democratic | Liberal gain from New Democratic | Swing | Swing | 7.15% |
| Source(s) Source: "Edmonton-Avonmore Official Results 1993 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||
vte1997 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Mill Creek :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal | Gene Zwozdesky | 6,757 | 51.91% | – |
| | Progressive Conservative | Sukhi Randhawa | 3,679 | 28.27% | – |
| | New Democratic | Stephen Crocker | 1,804 | 13.86% | – |
| | Social Credit | Christie Forget | 776 | 5.96% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 13,016 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 18 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 23,216 | 56.14% | – |
| | Liberal pickup new district. | Liberal pickup new district. | Liberal pickup new district. | Liberal pickup new district. | Liberal pickup new district. | Liberal pickup new district. | Liberal pickup new district. |
| Source(s) Source: "Edmonton-Mill Creek Official Results 1997 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. "1997 General Election". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 26, 2020. |||||||
vte2001 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Mill Creek :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Gene Zwozdesky | 8,085 | 55.67% | 27.40% |
| | Liberal | Bharat Agnihotri | 4,229 | 29.12% | -22.80% |
| | New Democratic | Edwin Villania | 1,893 | 13.03% | -0.83% |
| | Alberta First | Kyle Harvey | 220 | 1.51% | – |
| | Greens | Harlan Light | 97 | 0.67% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 14,524 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 41 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 26,307 | 55.37% | -0.78% |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Progressive Conservative gain from Liberal | Swing | Swing | 1.45% |
| Source(s) Source: "Edmonton-Mill Creek Official Results 2001 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. |||||||
vte2004 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Mill Creek :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Gene Zwozdesky | 5,070 | 42.08% | -13.59% |
| | Liberal | Aman Gill | 4,289 | 35.60% | 6.48% |
| | New Democratic | Nathan Taylor | 1,709 | 14.18% | 1.15% |
| | Alberta Alliance | Robert J. Alford | 523 | 4.34% | – |
| | Greens | Eric Stieglitz | 386 | 3.20% | 2.54% |
| | Independent | Cameron Johnson | 72 | 0.60% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 12,049 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 50 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 24,419 | 49.55% | -5.82% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -10.03% |
| Source(s) Source: "Edmonton-Mill Creek Official Results 2004 Alberta general election". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved May 21, 2020. "Edmonton-Mill Creek Statement of Official Results 2004 Alberta general election" (PDF). Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 28, 2020. |||||||
vte2008 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Mill Creek :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Gene Zwozdesky | 6,857 | 50.78% | 8.70% |
| | Liberal | Aman Gill | 4,058 | 30.05% | -5.55% |
| | New Democratic | Stephen Anderson | 1,822 | 13.49% | -0.69% |
| | Green | Glen Argan | 726 | 5.38% | – |
| | Communist | Naomi Rankin | 41 | 0.30% | – |
| Total | Total | Total | 13,504 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 90 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 29,773 | 45.66% | -3.89% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 7.12% |
| Source(s) Source: The Report on the March 3, 2008 Provincial General Election of the Twenty-seventh Legislative Assembly. Elections Alberta. May 28, 2020. pp. 320–323. |||||||
vte2012 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Mill Creek :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Gene Zwozdesky | 6,623 | 55.06% | 4.28% |
| | Wildrose | Adam Corsaut | 2,193 | 18.23% | – |
| | Liberal | Mike Butler | 1,640 | 13.63% | -16.42% |
| | New Democratic | Evelinne Teichgraber | 1,336 | 11.11% | -2.39% |
| | Alberta Party | Judy Wilson | 194 | 1.61% | – |
| | Communist | Naomi Rankin | 43 | 0.36% | 0.05% |
| Total | Total | Total | 12,029 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 117 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 25,250 | 48.10% | 2.44% |
| | Progressive Conservative hold | Progressive Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 8.05% |
| Source(s) Source: "Elections Alberta 2012 General Election". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. "40 - Edmonton-Mill Creek". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved 4 June 2020. |||||||
vte2015 Alberta general election: Edmonton-Mill Creek :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Denise Woollard | 9,025 | 55.94% | 44.83% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Gene Zwozdesky | 3,848 | 23.85% | -31.21% |
| | Liberal | Harpreet Gill | 1,896 | 11.75% | -1.88% |
| | Wildrose | Saqib Raja | 1,365 | 8.46% | -9.77% |
| Total | Total | Total | 16,134 | – | – |
| Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | Rejected, spoiled and declined | 59 | – | – |
| Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | Eligible electors / turnout | 32,521 | 49.79% | 1.69% |
| | New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative | New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative | Swing | Swing | -2.37% |
| Source(s) Source: "Elections Alberta 2015 General Election". Elections Alberta. Retrieved May 21, 2020. "40 - Edmonton-Mill Creek". officialresults.elections.ab.ca. Elections Alberta. Retrieved 4 June 2020. |||||||