Stephen Harper summary
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Stephen Harper, in full Stephen Joseph Harper ,  (born April 30, 1959, Toronto, Ont., Can.), Canadian prime minister (2006–15).
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Stephen Harper, in full Stephen Joseph Harper, (born April 30, 1959, Toronto, Ont., Can.), Canadian prime minister (2006–15). Harper received an M.A. degree in economics from the University of Calgary in 1991, after which he directed his career toward politics and public policy analysis. He was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1993 as a member of the western-based Reform Party, but he did not seek reelection in 1997. In 2002 he returned to the House of Commons and became leader of the opposition Canadian Alliance (the successor to the Reform Party), and in 2004 he was elected head of the Conservative Party of Canada, formed by the merger of the Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parties. In 2006 he led the Conservative Party to victory and became prime minister. Under Harper the Conservatives won again in 2008 and 2011, but they were forced from power by the Liberals in 2015, when Harper resigned as party leader.