Saskatchewan Party founding member Ken Krawetz dies at 75
The former deputy premier and finance minister was a key figure in the party's formation and served as its first interim leader.
REGINA — Ken Krawetz, a founding member of the Saskatchewan Party and former deputy premier, has died at age 75.
Premier Scott Moe announced the death on social media on Thursday.
"This one hurts a lot," Moe said in a statement.
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"In any room Ken was in, whether as a teacher, school board trustee, opposition or government caucus member, cabinet minister or at the kitchen table talking to a constituent, Ken was always the guy who brought the logic, integrity, compassion and common sense to arrive at the right decision."
Moe said flags at the Legislative Building in Regina will be lowered to half-mast in Krawetz's honour.
Krawetz was first elected as a Liberal MLA in 1995 in the Canora-Pelly constituency.
In 1997, he joined with fellow Liberals Bob Bjornerud, Rod Gantefoer and June Draude, along with four Progressive Conservative MLAs, to form the Saskatchewan Party.
He served as the new party's first interim leader until Elwin Hermanson was elected leader in 1998.
When the Saskatchewan Party won government in 2007, Krawetz served as deputy premier under Brad Wall and held the positions of education minister and finance minister.
"Ken is an icon, pillar of our party and our government who has provided remarkable service to Saskatchewan in ways I think people will never fully understand," Jeremy Harrison, the minister of Crown investments, said at a Thursday news conference.
Former premier Brad Wall wrote on Facebook that Krawetz was "a mentor and a counsellor to me; as Proverbs describes, 'a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.'"
Moe described Krawetz as someone who loved his province and his community, but loved his friends and family more than anything.
"He even loved the Toronto Maple Leafs," Moe added.
Krawetz was a staunch advocate for Saskatchewan's Ukrainian community.
He served as legislative secretary for Saskatchewan-Ukraine relations and played a leading role in passing the province's Holodomor Memorial Day Act.
In 2009, then-Ukrainian president Victor Yushchenko presented Krawetz with the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, the highest honour a non-citizen of Ukraine can receive.
In 2022, Ukraine appointed Krawetz its honorary consul in Saskatchewan, where he helped co-ordinate the province's response to Russia's invasion.
Before politics, Krawetz worked as a teacher and school board trustee.
He announced in 2014 that he would not seek re-election, serving until the 2016 general election.
On his last day in the legislature, Krawetz said he hoped he would be remembered as someone who was "in favour and in support of building things and growing this province and that you use this time [as a politician] to the best of your ability."
Current Education Minister Everett Hindley wrote on Facebook, "Few can match the respect that Ken commanded in a room, and his booming voice that echoed throughout the legislative chamber. We miss you, Ken."
With files from battlefordsNOW, CBC News and The Globe and Mail