Russell, Robin

Person

Russell, Robin

1941-

Robin Russell, a prominent Liberal, was born in 1941 at Cobourg, Ontario. After graduating in Political Science from Waterloo, in 1964, he was employed, in 1965, by the Speaker of the House of Commons on the Inter-Parliamentary Secretariat. In 1967, he was Provincial Candidate, (Liberal) for Northumberland; he lost that election. From 1967 to 1971, he was Special Assistant to the Leader of the Opposition at Queen's Park, Robert Nixon. Except for the years from 1971 to 1975, when he worked as a property manager and as Administrative Assistant for Toronto's multi-heritage festival, Caravan, Mr. Russell has made his career in politics. From 1979 on, this career has consisted of a variety of jobs that might, all together, be summed up by calling him a part of the "Political Staff" of the Liberal Party. This does not mean that he was employed directly by the Party, usually he received a government salary as part of a Member of Parliament's staff and was required to resign when that member left office. His work alternated between provincial and federal politics and he was frequently employed by various "Campaign Committees" working for the election of Liberal candidates. More specifically, his work included inter-ministerial liaison; special events design and implementation; scheduling: supervision, implementation and protocol; communications strategy; speech writing and research; political organizing and training; re-election planning, sensitivity to urban, rural and multicultural realities. By 1999, Robin Russell had served on the political staff of five federal ministers and one provincial minister.

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