Eiling Kramer

Background

Eiling Kramer was born in 1914, the son of Minne Dowe Kramer and Jacobina Kopinga, in Highworth, Saskatchewan in the North Battleford district.

Career

After attending school in Highworth, Eiling worked at a number of jobs, then purchased a ranch where he raised cattle. He established an auctioneering business in 1949. In 1950, he helped form the Saskatchewan Farmers" Union and served two years as its vice-president

He is remembered as one of the most charming and colourful characters to grace Saskatchewan"s political scene.

Kramer was the longest-serving member in the history of Saskatchewan"s Legislative Assembly. He served as a Cabinet minister in the New Democratic Party of Saskatchewan governments under Woodrow Lloyd and Allan Blakeney, managing portfolios that included the departments of Natural Resources, Company-operation and Company-operatives, and Highways and Transportation.

He was involved with the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, the Sherwood Company-op Association and the Lions and Cosmopolitan Clubs. Eiling retired from politics in 1980, moving to North Battleford and later Regina, where he died at the age of 84 in 1999.

Achievements

• First elected in 1952 as the member of the Legislative Assembly (Modern Language Association) for The Battlefords, Eiling won re-election in every campaign he contested.