Piers McDonald, OC is a Yukon politician and trade unionist. Born in Kingston, Ontario, McDonald, a miner by profession, was vice-president of the Yukon Federation of Labour from 1981-1982. He won election to the Yukon Legislative Assembly on behalf of the NDP in 1982 and became Minister of Education and Minister of Community and Transport when Tony Penikett led the NDP to power in 1985. In 1989, McDonald became Minister of Finance and served in that position until 1991 when he again became Minister of Education until the NDP's defeat in the 1992 election. McDonald succeeded Penikett as NDP leader and leader of the opposition in 1995 and led the NDP back to power in the 1996 election winning 11 of the territory's 17 seats but in 2000 his government was defeated and McDonald narrowly lost his seat in the legislature. While his government left a $60 million budget surplus and earned a good reputation for promoting social programs and protecting the environment, it had suffered from a decline in the territory's economy due to a fall in world metal prices and the closure of several mines. [More at Wikipedia]

August 4th, 1955 in Kingston (Age 69)