Canadian Statesman. 10th Premier of Saskatchewan. After graduating from Dalhousie University with a law degree in 1947, he was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford for two years. He returned to Canada and worked for the province of Saskatchewan civil service. In 1957 he went into private law practice in Regina. He was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in 1960 with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation which later became the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP). He was appointed to the cabinet in the governments of premiers Tommy Douglas and Woodrow Lloyd from 1961 to 1964, serving as Minister of Education and Minister of Finance. As Minister of Health he played a crucial role in the introduction of Medicare in Saskatchewan, the first jurisdiction in Canada to do so, leading to publicly-funded health care coverage across the nation. In 1970 he was elected leader of the Saskatchewan NDP which was then in opposition. With the party winning the next election, he served as Premier through three terms from June 1971 to May 1982. He was noted for the creation of several resource-based Crown corporations and a wide array of social programs. Blakeney was a strong advocate for provinces' rights, especially during the federal-provincial negotiations that resulted in the 1982 patriation of Canada's Constitution from Britain. During the same period he was instrumental in the drafting of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. After the defeat of his government, he continued to serve as an MLA until his retirement from politics in 1988. He then wrote, taught constitutional law at York University and University of Saskatchewan until 1992, and served on numerous boards of directors and volunteer associations. His memoir, "An Honourable Calling: Political Memoirs", was published in 2008. His awards and honours include member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Officer of the Order of Canada, member of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, Queen's Counsel, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and several honorary degrees. Blakeney died at his home, aged 85, after a short battle with liver cancer.