Kim Campbell facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The Right Honourable Kim Campbell PC CC OBC KC
Campbell in 2012
19th Prime Minister of Canada
In office June 25, 1993 – November 4, 1993
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor General	Ray Hnatyshyn
Deputy	Jean Charest
Preceded by	Brian Mulroney
Succeeded by	Jean Chrétien
Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
In office June 13, 1993 – December 14, 1993
Preceded by	Brian Mulroney
Succeeded by	Jean Charest
Minister of National Defence
In office January 4 – June 25, 1993 (1993-01-04 – 1993-06-25)
Prime Minister	Brian Mulroney
Preceded by	Marcel Masse
Succeeded by	Tom Siddon
Minister of Veterans Affairs
In office January 4 – June 25, 1993 (1993-01-04 – 1993-06-25)
Prime Minister	Brian Mulroney
Preceded by	Gerald Merrithew
Succeeded by	Peter McCreath
Minister of Justice and Attorney General
In office February 23, 1990 – January 3, 1993
Prime Minister	Brian Mulroney
Preceded by	Doug Lewis
Succeeded by	Pierre Blais
Minister of State (Indian Affairs and Northern Development)
In office January 30, 1989 – February 22, 1990
Prime Minister	Brian Mulroney
Minister	Pierre Cadieux
Preceded by	Bernard Valcourt
Succeeded by	Shirley Martin
Parliamentary constituencies Member of Parliament for Vancouver Centre In office November 21, 1988 – October 25, 1993 Preceded by Pat Carney Succeeded by Hedy Fry Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Point Grey In office September 24, 1986 – November 21, 1988 Serving with Darlene Marzari Preceded by Pat McGeer Garde Gardom Succeeded by Tom Perry
Personal details
Born	Avril Phaedra Douglas Campbell (1947-03-10) March 10, 1947 (age 78) Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada
Political party	Independent (since 2003)
Other political affiliations	NPA (1980–1986) BC Social Credit (1983–1988) Progressive Conservative (1988–2003)
Spouses	Nathan Divinsky ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1983)​ Howard Eddy ​ ​ (m. 1986; div. 1993)​ Hershey Felder ​ (m. 1997)​
Alma mater	University of British Columbia (BA, LLB) London School of Economics
Occupation	Politician diplomat lawyer writer
Signature

Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician, lawyer, and writer who made history as the 19th prime minister of Canada. She served from June to November 1993 and is the first and only woman to ever hold this top job in Canada.

Before becoming prime minister, Campbell broke other barriers. She was the first woman to be Canada's minister of justice and the first woman from any NATO country to be a minister of defence. She was a member of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party.

Campbell was also the first prime minister born in British Columbia and the first baby boomer to lead the country.

Early Life and Education

Kim Campbell was born in Port Alberni, British Columbia. Her parents were Phyllis and George Campbell. When she was a preteen, her family moved to Vancouver. As a child, she was even a host on a CBC kids' show called Junior Television Club.

When Campbell was 12, her mother moved away, and she and her sister were raised by their father. As a teenager, she started going by the name "Kim." She was an excellent student at Prince of Wales Secondary School and became the school's first female student president.

After high school, Campbell studied political science at the University of British Columbia (UBC), where she was also the first female president of her freshman class. She later studied Soviet government at the London School of Economics and even toured the Soviet Union. She returned to Vancouver and earned a law degree from UBC in 1983.

Start in Politics

While still in law school, Campbell began her political career. She was elected as a trustee for the Vancouver School Board and served from 1980 to 1984.

In 1986, she was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a member of the British Columbia Social Credit Party. However, she disagreed with the party's leader, Premier Bill Vander Zalm, on certain issues and decided to move into national politics.

Entering Federal Politics

In the 1988 Canadian federal election, Campbell was elected to the House of Commons of Canada as a member of the Progressive Conservative party. She represented the area of Vancouver Centre.

Prime Minister Brian Mulroney quickly gave her important jobs in his government, which is called the Cabinet.

• Minister of State for Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1989–1990)
• Minister of Justice and Attorney General (1990–1993)
• Minister of National Defence (1993)

As Minister of Justice, she was in charge of major changes to Canadian law, including new rules for firearms.

Becoming Prime Minister

Campbell with U.S. President Bill Clinton at a G7 Summit in Tokyo, July 1993.

By 1993, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney had become very unpopular. He announced he would retire, and the Progressive Conservative Party needed a new leader. Kim Campbell entered the race to replace him.

In June 1993, she won the leadership contest, defeating her main rival, Jean Charest. On June 25, 1993, she was officially appointed prime minister. She immediately made changes to the government, reducing the size of the Cabinet from 35 ministers to 23 to make it more efficient.

Over the summer, Campbell was very popular. Polls showed that many Canadians liked her, and she was seen as Canada's most popular prime minister in 30 years.

The 1993 Federal Election

Campbell called for a federal election to be held on October 25, 1993. Her party, the Progressive Conservatives (PCs), hoped to win, or at least remain a strong force in Parliament.

A Difficult Campaign

Although Campbell started the campaign with high popularity, things soon changed. Her honest and direct style, which people first liked, sometimes got her into trouble. For example, a comment she made about not being able to fix big problems during a short election campaign was twisted by the media.

Her party's support began to drop. In an attempt to win back voters, her campaign team released TV ads that attacked the Liberal leader, Jean Chrétien. One ad seemed to make fun of his facial paralysis, which is caused by a condition called Bell's palsy. Many people, including some of Campbell's own party members, were very upset by this. Campbell said she did not approve the ad and ordered it to be taken off the air.

A Historic Defeat

On election night, the Progressive Conservatives suffered a massive loss. They went from holding a majority of seats in Parliament to winning only two. This was the worst defeat for a governing party in Canadian history.

Campbell lost her own seat in Vancouver Centre to a new Liberal candidate, Hedy Fry. It is very rare for a sitting prime minister to lose their own election in their home district.

Many factors led to the loss. The previous prime minister, Brian Mulroney, was extremely unpopular when he left office, and many voters were tired of the PC party. Some also believe that the media treated Campbell unfairly compared to her male opponents.

Campbell resigned as party leader on December 13, 1993.

Life After Politics

After leaving politics, Kim Campbell remained a public figure. In 1996, she published her autobiography, Time and Chance, which became a bestseller in Canada.

From 1996 to 2000, she served as Canada's consul general in Los Angeles. She has also taught at Harvard University and worked with many international organizations focused on democracy, leadership, and women's rights. She was the chair of the Council of Women World Leaders and president of the International Women's Forum.

In 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked her to lead a committee to help choose a new judge for the Supreme Court of Canada.

Campbell has sometimes commented on modern politics. She has expressed that she no longer feels at home in the modern Conservative Party of Canada, which was formed after her old party merged with another.

Legacy

Although her time as prime minister was very short—just 132 days—Kim Campbell's career had a lasting impact. She remains the only woman to have ever been Prime Minister of Canada.

As Minister of Justice, she passed important laws that are still in effect today. Her changes to the structure of the government's Cabinet, making it smaller and more focused, were kept by the prime ministers who came after her.

Her official portrait hangs in the Prime Minister's corridor in the Parliament buildings. At its unveiling, she said, "I really look forward to the day when there are many other female faces."

Honours

Honours

Ribbon	Description	Notes
	Companion of the Order of Canada (C.C.)	Awarded on April 10, 2008; and Invested on September 3, 2010
	Member of the Order of British Columbia (O.B.C.)	2012
	125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal	1993 As a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada and an elected Member of the House of Commons of Canada, the then Honourable Kim Campbell was awarded the medal as a member of the Canadian order of precedence.
	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal for Canada	2002 As a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada and as a former Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honourable Kim Campbell was awarded the medal as a member of the Canadian order of precedence.
	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Canada	2012 As a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council for Canada, as a former Prime Minister of Canada, and having been awarded the Order of Canada, the Right Honourable Kim Campbell was awarded the medal as a member of the Canadian order of precedence.