Jan. 21, 2009, Victoria, B.C. — Agriculture and Lands Minister Stan Hagen has died. Premier Gordon Campbell announced Hagen’s sudden death Tuesday night. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Jan. 21, 2009, Victoria, B.C. — Agriculture and Lands Minister Stan Hagen has died.
Premier Gordon Campbell announced Hagen’s sudden death Tuesday night. The cause of death was not immediately known.
Campbell said the province has suffered a great loss with Hagen’s passing, describing the Comox Valley MLA as a man who gave of himself to the public for more than two decades. Hagen served as minister of 10 different ministries since 1986, a record that Campbell said no one in Canadian public life can match.
"British Columbians have lost a friend, whether they knew Stan Hagen or not,’’ Campbell said in an interview with The Canadian Press. "I think we should all reflect on how great his contribution was and see if we can emulate some of the examples that he set for all of us.’’
Campbell called Hagen a friend and described him as a supportive, gracious and generous man. "He was a person that never needed the credit for himself. He was always glad for someone else to do well,’’ Campbell said. "He was willing to celebrate someone else’s success and I think that’s what really made him the most enthusiastic about his time in public life.’’
Campbell said one of his great memories of Hagen is working with him in the 1980s on Vancouver’s Science World project and that he remembers "the sparkle that (Hagen) had in his eye and the enthusiasm that he had for giving our kids in our province the gift of science.’’
Campbell said Hagen’s loss will be felt in the First Nations community. "He had very strong and positive relations with First Nations people and with First Nations leaders up and down the coast of British Columbia,’’ he said.
B.C. NDP Leader Carole James, in a news release issued late Tuesday night, offered her deepest condolences to Hagen’s family on behalf of her caucus and party. James said Hagen made an enormous contribution to public life and will be greatly missed by all legislators.
Hagen was appointed agriculture and lands minister on June 23, 2008. Some of the other departments he headed were Tourism, Sport and the Arts, Children and Family Development, Minister of Human Resources and Minister of Sustainable Resource Management.
Hagen has lived in the Comox Valley since 1968.
In 2004, Hagen had surgery for prostate cancer.
He leaves behind his wife Judy and five children.
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