Peter Lougheed

Peter Lougheed (born 1928) is a Canadian lawyer, politician and professional football player. He served as premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985. After two years playing with the Edmonton Eskimos and a brief period practising law, he was elected leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative Party in 1965. The party, which had not been a political force for over 40 years, became the opposition in 1967 and won 49 of 75 seats in 1971. As premier, he encouraged development of oil and gas in the province while increasing royalties paid to the province, and started the Alberta Heritage Fund.