Don Getty

The Honourable Don Getty OC AOE
Getty in the 1990s
11th Premier of Alberta
In office November 1, 1985 – December 14, 1992
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Lieutenant Governor	Helen Hunley Gordon Towers
Preceded by	Peter Lougheed
Succeeded by	Ralph Klein
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
In office May 23, 1967 – August 30, 1971
Preceded by	Randolph McKinnon
Succeeded by	District abolished
Constituency	Strathcona West
In office August 30, 1971 – March 14, 1979
Preceded by	District established
Succeeded by	Peter Knaak
Constituency	Edmonton-Whitemud
In office December 11, 1985 – March 20, 1989
Preceded by	Robert Alexander
Succeeded by	Percy Wickman
Constituency	Edmonton-Whitemud
In office May 9, 1989 – December 14, 1992
Preceded by	Brian Downey
Succeeded by	District abolished
Constituency	Stettler
Minister of Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs
In office September 10, 1971 – March 1975
Preceded by	Portfolio established
Succeeded by	Lou Hyndman
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
In office March 1975 – March 1979
Preceded by	Portfolio established
Succeeded by	Merv Leitch
Personal details
Born	Donald Ross Getty (1933-08-30)August 30, 1933 Westmount, Quebec, Canada
Died	February 26, 2016(2016-02-26) (aged 82) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Political party	Progressive Conservative
Spouse	Margaret Mitchell
Children	4
Alma mater	University of Western Ontario
Occupation	Businessman, professional athlete
Signature
Football career
No. 27, 87
Getty after winning the 44th Grey Cup in 1956
Career information
CFL status	National
Position(s)	QB
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg)
College	Western Ontario
Career history
As player
1955–1965	Edmonton Eskimos
Career highlights and awards
Awards	2× Grey Cup (1955, 1956) Outstanding Canadian, Western Interprovincial Football Union (1959) Runner up, Schenley Award (1959)
Honors	Edmonton Eskimos Wall of Honour, 1992

Donald Ross Getty OC AOE (August 30, 1933 – February 26, 2016) was a Canadian politician who served as the 11th premier of Alberta between 1985 and 1992. A member of the Progressive Conservatives, he served as Energy Minister and Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister in the government of Peter Lougheed before leaving politics for the private sector in 1979. He returned to politics six years later to enter the Progressive Conservative leadership contest resulting from Lougheed's retirement. He defeated two other candidates, and became Premier November 1, 1985.

As Premier, Getty was faced with an economic slowdown and falling energy prices, which hit Alberta's petroleum-dominated economy hard. Faced with mounting government deficits and increasing unemployment, he cut social spending and intervened with government money to prevent businesses from failing. Several of these interventions backfired in high-profile fashion, failing at their intended objective and costing scarce public funds as well. While some analysts argue that Getty's fiscal program laid the groundwork for Ralph Klein's later balancing of the provincial budget, on Getty's departure from office the government's debt had reached $11 billion, setting the stage for his successor to characterize the Getty years as an era of wasteful and excessive spending.

His efforts at strengthening Alberta's presence in Canada initially appeared more successful, as he won the agreement of Canada's other first ministers in including elements of Senate reform in the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords, but these efforts came to naught when both accords were rejected—the second by the Canadian public, including a majority of Albertans. Getty was also facing political problems within Alberta, including a defeat in his home riding of Edmonton-Whitemud in the 1989 election (leading to a successful by-election in Stettler, vacated by a P.C. MLA) and leadership machinations from some of his own ministers. In light of this, he resigned the Premiership in 1992.

Before entering politics, Getty had been a quarterback for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. He passed for more than eight thousand yards over his ten-year career, and was put on the team's Wall of Fame in 1992.