Norman Kwong
The Honourable Norman Lim Kwong 林佐民 CM AOE LLD | |
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16th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta | |
In office January 20, 2005 – May 11, 2010 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governor General |
Adrienne Clarkson Michaëlle Jean |
Premier |
Ralph Klein Ed Stelmach |
Preceded by | Lois Hole |
Succeeded by | Donald Ethell |
Personal details | |
Born |
Lim Kwong Yew October 24, 1929 Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
Spouse(s) | Mary Kwong |
Children | Gregory Kwong, Bradley Kwong, Martin Kwong, Randall Kwong |
Profession | Professional athlete (Canadian football), businessman, sports executive |
Signature |
Norman Lim "Normie" Kwong (Lim Kwong Yew Chinese: 林佐民; pinyin: Lín Zuǒmín; Jyutping: Lam4 Cho3 Man4; born October 24, 1929) is a former professional athlete, sports executive, and was the 16th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta.
His parents immigrated from Taishan, Guangdong, China, and he is the first person of Chinese heritage to serve as lieutenant-governor of Alberta. As the former vice-regal representative in Alberta, he is styled "The Honourable" for life. Kwong is the second Chinese Canadian to be appointed as a vice regal in Canada.
Sports career
Date of birth | October 24, 1929 |
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Place of birth | Calgary, Alberta |
Career information | |
CFL status | National |
Position(s) | RB |
Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
Weight | 170 lb (77 kg) |
Career history | |
As player | |
1948-1950 | Calgary Stampeders |
1951-1960 | Edmonton Eskimos |
Career highlights and awards | |
CFL West All-Star | 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956 |
Records |
Eskimos Record
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Career stats | |
After playing football at Western Canada High School, he went on to play for the Calgary Stampeders from 1948 to 1950 and, after a trade, the Edmonton Eskimos from 1951 until his retirement in 1960. Nicknamed the "China Clipper", Kwong was the first Chinese Canadian to play on a professional Canadian football team. A powerful fullback, in 11 years of recorded statistics Kwong rushed for 9,022 yards for an average of 5.2 yards per carry and scored 93 touchdowns. He won the Grey Cup four times during his career (1948, 1954, 1955, and 1956). Kwong was a Western Conference all-star running back and three-time winner of the Eddie James Memorial Trophy, in 1951, 1955 and 1956. He was named the Schenley Most Outstanding Canadian in 1955 and 1956. He was named Canadian Athlete of the Year in 1955. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1969, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975, the Edmonton Eskimos' Wall of Honour in 1983 (where his jersey No. 95 was retired), and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1987. In November 2006, he was one of very few of his contemporaries to be voted one of the Canadian Football League's Top 50 players of the sport's modern era by Canadian sports network TSN. Kwong set the CFL record for the most yards rushing by Canadian in a season with 1,437 in the 1956 season. This record held for 56 years, being broken by Jon Cornish only in 2012,[1] though Kwong accomplished his record in fifteen games, rather than eighteen for Cornish.[2]
He was president and general manager of the Calgary Stampeders from 1988 to 1991, leading the team to a loss in the Grey Cup final in 1991. Between 1980 and 1994, Kwong was a part owner of the Calgary Flames, having been one of the original group of six Calgary businessmen who bought and moved the NHL's Atlanta Flames hockey team to Calgary in 1980.[3] The Calgary Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1989, making him one of few people whose name is on both the Grey Cup and the Stanley Cup.
Public service career
Kwong's public stature from sports helped him move on to politics and government. In 1971 he ran for the Alberta Progressive Conservative party in Calgary-Millican. In this election, the PCs ended Social Credit's 36-year hold on power, winning all but five seats in Calgary. However, Kwong himself was defeated by longtime incumbent Arthur J. Dixon who won by a 1600 vote plurality.
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. Kwong was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta on January 20, 2005, replacing Lois Hole, who died in office on January 6, 2005. Kwong welcomed Queen Elizabeth II to Alberta in June 2005 on a visit commemorating Alberta's first 100 years in Canadian Confederation. During a private audience the Queen presented Kwong with the insignia of a Knight of Justice in the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem.
Kwong swore Ed Stelmach into office as the 13th Premier of Alberta on December 14, 2006. His term concluded on May 11, 2010, and he was succeeded by Don Ethell.
Arms
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See also
- Honourable David Lam - former Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia and Canada's first vice-regal of Chinese heritage
- Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson - former Governor General of Canada and the first Chinese Canadian to serve the post
- Larry Kwong, the original "China Clipper", former NHL hockey player and first Chinese-Canadian NHL player
- Philip S. Lee, former Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba
References
- ↑ http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/10/31/normie-kwong-proud-of-cfl-rushing-record
- ↑ http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/football/lions/Lions+boss+Wally+Buono+says+record+books+should/7492003/story.html
- ↑ The other original investors are Harley Hotchkiss, Ralph T. Scurfield, Daryl Seaman, Byron Seaman and Norman Green.
- ↑ Canadian Heraldic Authority (Volume V), Ottawa, 2007, p. 119
- ↑ Canadian Heraldic Authority. "The Public Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges of Canada > Norman Lim Kwong". Queen's Printer for Canada. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
- Lost Years: A People's Struggle for Justice
- Lost Years (Episode 2) CBC TV, August 27, 2011 & March 3, 2012
- CBC News - Jan 19 2005: Ex-footballer Normie Kwong Alberta's new lieutenant-governor
- Office of the Lieutenant Governor
- Canadian Encyclopedia: Calgary Flames
- CCNC - Chinese Canadians - Normie Kwong
- Government of Alberta News Release - Jan 19 2005: Premier Klein praises choice of new Lieutenant Governor
- Historica Minute: Normie Kwong
- The Canadian Encyclopedia
- Canada's Sports Hall of Fame profile
Order of precedence | ||
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Preceded by Catherine Fraser, The Chief Justice of The Court of Appeal of Alberta |
Order of precedence in Alberta as of 2016 |
Succeeded by Donald Ethell, Former Lieutenant Governor of Alberta |
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