Former Speaker Robert Wanner’s work serving Albertans was honoured on Monday when a portrait of him was unveiled at the legislature in Edmonton.
“With his meaningful work in social services and his personal dedication to community development, Speaker Wanner was able to bring a unique perspective to the role of Speaker,” said Nathan Cooper, who currently serves as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.
“His insight enabled him to perform the role admirably.”
Wanner was elected as a member of the NDP in 2015 when that party surged to power and unseated a Progressive Conservative dynasty. A month later, he was elected as Speaker, a role he maintained until May 2019.
READ MORE: Rookie NDP MLA Bob Wanner elected Speaker of Alberta legislature
In a news release, the government noted that during Wanner’s 35-year career with the City of Medicine Hat, he held a number of positions, including director of preventive social services, director of administration and planning for the police service and superintendent of social planning and housing.
A registered social worker, qualified mediator and registered family mediator, Wanner is also a co-founder of the volunteer-run charity Canadians Reaching Out to the World’s Children Foundation, which aims to to improve the lives of disadvantaged or vulnerable children.
Wanner’s official legislature portrait was painted by Joe Versikaitis, an artist who is originally from Venezuela but now lives in Calgary.
Watch below: (From May 20, 2019) United Conservative MLAs will be sworn in first thing Tuesday morning by a ceremony presided over by speaker Bob Wanner. It will be one of the last official duties for Wanner as he leaves the role behind. Tom Vernon sat down with him to speak about his time in the chair.
Wanner’s portrait was unveiled on Monday morning during a ceremony in the legislature rotunda.
The portrait will be placed with the collection on permanent display on the fourth floor of the Alberta legislature building.