Hawrelak, William

Hawrelak, William [Havreljak, Vasyl’], b 4 October 1914 in Wasel, Alberta, d 7 November 1975 in Edmonton. Entrepreneur and politician. Owner of a soft-drink company and a real-estate developer, in 1949 Hawrelak was the first Ukrainian elected to the city council of Edmonton. In 1951 he was elected mayor of Edmonton, the first Ukrainian mayor of a major Canadian city. He served three terms—1952–9, 1963–5, and 1974–5—and in 1956 was elected president of the Canadian Federation of Mayors. Forced to resign from office in 1959 and 1965 because of real-estate scandals, he was exonerated in the later case by the Supreme Court of Canada. Hawrelak was a member of the Ukrainian Canadian Professional and Business Federation and active in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Stuemer, D. K. Hawrelak: The Story (Calgary 1992)