Russell MacLellan

Russell Gregoire MacLellan (born January 16, 1940) is a Canadian politician who served as the 24th premier of Nova Scotia from 1997 to 1999.

The Honourable Russell MacLellan ECNS
24th Premier of Nova Scotia
In office July 18, 1997 – August 16, 1999
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Lieutenant Governor	James Kinley
Preceded by	John Savage
Succeeded by	John Hamm
MP for Cape Breton—The Sydneys
In office May 22, 1979 – June 2, 1997
Preceded by	Robert Muir
Succeeded by	Riding dissolved
MLA for Cape Breton North
In office November 4, 1997 – October 4, 2000
Preceded by	Ron Stewart
Succeeded by	Cecil Clarke
Leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party
In office July 12, 1997 – June 30, 2000
Preceded by	John Savage
Succeeded by	Wayne Gaudet
Personal details
Born	Russell Gregoire MacLellan (1940-01-16) January 16, 1940 (age 85) Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Political party	Liberal
Spouse	Ann MacLean

Federal politics

He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1979 federal election for the riding of Cape Breton—The Sydneys and sat as a Liberal MP until 1997.

Provincial politics

In 1997, he became leader of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party and premier of the province after John Savage was forced to resign due to discontent within his party and sagging polls. MacLellan tried to revive the Liberal government's fortunes; he narrowly won a minority government in the 1998 election,^[1] but his government was defeated in a confidence vote in 1999^[2] and then defeated in the resulting 1999 election.^[3]

On January 26, 2000, MacLellan announced he would step down as Liberal leader on June 30.^[4][5] He continued to sit as an MLA until resigning in October 2000.^[6]

After politics

Following his resignation, MacLellan returned to practising law, working for the Halifax-based law firm, Merrick Holm.^[7]