On November 27, 2006, Estonian, Peter Van Loan was sworn in as a Minister which allows him entry into the Privy Council and thus is now allowed to use the title "the Honourable" in front of his name for the rest of his life.
"Avo Kittask of the Estonian Central Council tells me that I am the first Estonian elected into parliament so I guess I am also the first Estonian to become minister," said Van Loan.
Van Loan's functional titles are the President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister for Sport.
"I am honoured to be asked to serve in this capacity by Prime Minister Stephen Harper," said Van Loan. "The opportunity to work on the critical issues of national unity and advancing our government's constructive program of change, to help Canadian families is a tremendous one. I look forward to the hard work ahead."
Van Loan's long trek to this position probably gives him experience in every corner of politics. He started in his early teens doing every job on a campaign. Then most recently he was the party president for both the Ontario PC Party and then the federal PC Party.
In the federal party he had to deal with a fractured right wing which was not going to defeat the Liberals so he started to work on unifying the Progressive Conservatives, which he headed with the Canadian Alliance. The PC leader, Joe Clark did not agree and Van Loan had to leave the presidency.
After that Van Loan started his major organization job, criss-crossing Canada, talking to members of riding associations of both parties. "This was where I learned the issues of Canadians across the country," said Van Loan. When both parties came together, he had succeeded. This was also a good experience for his new job as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs.
Maybe as Minister for Sport, Van Loan can make cross-country skiing a national sport for Canada as well.
Good luck and congratulations, the Honourable Peter Van Loan.
