Identity area
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Rolfes, Herman, 1936-
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
- Herman Harold Rolfes
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
1936-
History
Herman Harold Rolfes was born on July 13, 1936 at Humboldt, Saskatchewan to Joseph and Josephine (Heckmann) Rolfes. He attended St. Peter's College in Muenster and Teacher's College in Saskatoon. Rolfes earned Bachelor of Arts (1960), Bachelor of Education (1964) and Master of Education degrees (1971) from the University of Saskatchewan.
Prior to his entry into provincial politics, Rolfes worked as a teacher, elementary school principal and high school guidance counselor in Saskatoon. He also served as president of the Saskatoon Elementary Teachers' Association.
Rolfes was first elected to the Saskatchewan Legislature in 1971 and served as a New Democratic Party (NDP) MLA for the Saskatoon Nutana South constituency until 1975. He was MLA for Saskatoon Buena Vista from 1975 to 1982. Rolfes held several Cabinet portfolios in the Allan Blakeney Government: Minister of Social Services (1975-1979); Minister of Continuing Education (1978-1979); Minister of Health (1979-1982); and Minister of Culture and Youth (1980).
Rolfes was Minister Responsible for Core Services Administration (1975-1978); Human Resources Development Agency (1976-1977); Saskatchewan Science Council (1978-1979); SaskMedia Authority (1978-1979); Saskatchewan Educational Communication Corporation (1978-1979); Universities' Commission (1978-1979); Saskatchewan Archives Board (1978-1979); Cancer Commission (1979-1982); Alcoholism Commission of Saskatchewan (1979-1982); and Saskatchewan Medical Care Insurance Commission (1979-1982). Rolfes was a member of the Planning Committee (1975-1979); Treasury Board (1979-1982) and Saskatchewan Housing Corporation (1980-1982).
Rolfes was defeated in the 1982 general election by Robert Myers (Progessive Conservative). He regained his seat in 1986 and served as MLA for the Saskatoon South (1986-1991) and Saskatoon Nutana (1991-1995) constituencies. Rolfes was elected Speaker of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly on December 2, 1991 and held the position until his retirement from politics in 1995.
After his retirement, Rolfes served on the University of Saskatchewan board of governors (1997 to 2003) and was a member of the Canadian Millennium Scholarship Foundation (1999).
Rolfes is currently (2006) retired and continues to reside in Saskatoon.
Rolfes married Myrna Hopfner on April 4, 1961. They have two children: Debora and Brian.
Places
Legal status
Functions, occupations and activities
Mandates/sources of authority
Internal structures/genealogy
General context
Relationships area
Access points area
Subject access points
Place access points
Occupations
Control area
Authority record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Rules for Archival Description (RAD)
Status
Final
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Authority record created on 2008-06-05. Approved 2012-03-06. Last modified on 2017-11-29.
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
AMICUS Authorities - no entry found
Saskatchewan Executive and Legislative Directory
Canadian Parliamentary Guide
Saskatchewan Politicians: Lives Past and Present