Article

Gordon Barnhart

Published Online October 21, 2008

Last Edited December 16, 2013

Gordon L. Barnhart, educator, historian, lieutenant-governor of SASKATCHEWAN (b at Saltcoats, Sask). A respected historian, Gordon Barnhart graduated from the UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN (U of S) with a Bachelor of Arts (1967).

Barnhart, Gordon L.

Gordon L. Barnhart, educator, historian, lieutenant-governor of SASKATCHEWAN (b at Saltcoats, Sask). A respected historian, Gordon Barnhart graduated from the UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN (U of S) with a Bachelor of Arts (1967). He taught high school in North Battleford before assuming a position as Clerk of the Saskatchewan Legislature, becoming the youngest Clerk in the Commonwealth at age 24. It was a position he held from 1969 to 1989 before moving to Ottawa to serve as Clerk of the Senate and Clerk of the Parliaments from 1989 to 1994.

In addition to his career as a public servant, Barnhart maintained a keen interest in academia and, in particular, Saskatchewan's history. While employed in public service, Barnhart earned a Masters degree in history at the UNIVERSITY OF REGINA in 1977 and a PhD in history at the U of S in 1998. His primary research interests included the life of former premier Walter SCOTT and Saskatchewan's early political life. He has published a substantial body of work on the topic including Peace, Progress and Prosperity: A Biography of Saskatchewan's First Premier, T. Walter Scott (2000); Building for the Future: A Photo Journal of Saskatchewan's Legislative Building (2003); and Saskatchewan Premiers of the Twentieth Century (2004).

Barnhart perused a career in academia at the administrative level following his tenure in public service, acting as the U of S's Secretary (2000 to 2005) and teaching various history courses. He was also the Special Adviser to the U of S's president on Government Relations, and the Associate Director of University of Saskatchewan International, directing the Yeltsin Democracy Fellowship Program and coordinating other exchange and development programs at the university. His interest in international democracy at the academic level led him to work with such government-supported agencies as the CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY and United States Agency for International Development.

Gordon L. Barnhart was sworn in as Saskatchewan's 20th lieutenant-governor on 1 August 2006, succeeding former lieutenant-governor Linda HAVERSTOCK. In 2007 the University of Saskatchewan named Barnhart one of its 100 Alumni of Influence.