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'Daniel "Danny" Williams', QC, LL.B, BA, MHA (born August 4, 1949 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador) is a Canadian businessman and politician. He is currently the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Williams first attended Saint Bonaventure's College then Gonzaga High School in St. John's, and then Memorial University, where he received a degree in political science and economics. In 1969, he was awarded the Rhodes Scholarship and went to Oxford University, earning a Degree in Arts in Law and playing for the Oxford University Ice Hockey Club. He then earned a Bachelor of Laws degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax.
Williams practised law from 1972, becoming a financially successful lawyer, and was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1984. While still in law school, Williams led a consortium of businesspeople that was granted Newfoundland's first cable television licence. Through major acquisitions, he built Cable Atlantic into one of the largest communications companies in Atlantic Canada. As the principal owner, he eventually sold it to Rogers Cable Inc. for $282 million dollars, giving him the nickname of "Danny Millions". Williams also served as president of OIS Fisher, an oil and natural gas company.
Williams ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2001. He was elected leader of the party and gained the seat of Humber West in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly in a by-election.
He led his party to victory in the 2003 general election and became the province's ninth premier. The first year of his administration was marked by confrontations between his government and labour unions of the civil service. His son was attacked in a nightclub during the height of the conflict, leading Williams to warn the unions to stay away from his family. Shortly thereafter, the attacker came forward and stated that the attack was not politically motivated.
He attracted considerable national attention on 23 December 2004 when he ordered all Canadian flags removed from provincial buildings in reply to a dispute with then Prime Minister Paul Martin over inequities in revenues accruing to Newfoundland and Labrador over its offshore oil resources. Several weeks later, in late January 2005, Williams and Martin reached a deal which revised the royalty formula and saw the Government of Canada award Newfoundland $2.6 billion CAD as an advance on royalties.
On March 3, 2006, Williams appeared on Larry King Live where Paul McCartney and his (then) wife Heather Mills McCartney debated the seal hunt with him. During this debate, McCartney claimed that any reasonable person who has seen footage of seals being clubbed would not come away believing this is humane. Premier Williams rebutted, claiming that the McCartneys were puppets of the issue that helped bankroll the organizations in protest of the seal hunt; he then invited the McCartneys to visit Newfoundland and Labrador during the interview. The McCartneys stated incorrectly they were currently in Newfoundland, but they were actually in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island during the interview.
Williams consistently has approval ratings that rank among the highest of any Canadian politician. In March 2005 one poll showed it as high as 86%.[1]
On June 5th 2007 it was announced that a poll conducted through out the most part of May suggests that Williams approval for him and his PC party is at 73%. this high level of public support has been consistent through out the last year
On June 21, 2006, Williams announced the resignation of Ed Byrne, the Government House Leader and Minister of Natural Resources, who was under investigation by the provincial Auditor General, John Noseworthy, for making excessive claims against his constituency allowance.
On Aug 21, 2007 Danny Williams signed an MOU for the Hebron offshore oilfield with several major oil companies. This agreement contains "super" royalties to be paid to the province, as well, the province will acquire a 4.9% equity stake in the project. It expires in 2033, 1 year before NL gets back the Churchill Falls Hydro.

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External links

External links

★ Office of the Premier Bio

★ Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador