Minister of Health
 1991-2001 -
Elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for the Constituency of Vancouver Kensington
Re-elected in 1996. Served as Minister of Government Services, Minister of Multiculturalism, Human
Rights, Sports and Immigration, and Attorney General of British Columbia.
January 2000 - Elected the Leader of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia
February 2000 - Sworn in as Premier of the Province of British Columbia
June 2001 - Returned to Private Law Practice
June 2004 - Elected to the House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Vancouver South
July 2004 - Appointed Federal Minister of Health
Mr. Dosanjh, who hails from Dosanjh Kalan, near Phagwara, India, first emigrated to England at the age of 17 and, four years later, moved to Canada in 1968 where he joined the labour force as a mill worker, while taking evening classes at a local community college.
Later, he attended Simon Fraser University, and graduated with honours in political science. He went on to attend the University of British Columbia Law School and graduated in 1976. Prior to completing university, he also taught English as a Second Language to new Canadians at the Vancouver Community College. In 1979, he established his own law practice in Vancouver.
A long time human rights and social justice activist, he has been involved in community work with many organizations such as the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, MOSAIC, South Vancouver Neighbourhood House, and the Vancouver Multicultural Society. In 1977, while he was Chair of the Labour Advocacy Research Association, he helped create the Farm Workers' Legal Information Service for janitorial, domestic and farm workers. This eventually facilitated the formation of the Canadian Farm Workers' Union.
His concern for social justice also led him to contest a seat in the British Columbia Provincial Legislature, as a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP). After two attempts, he won the election in 1991, when his party also formed the Government of the Province. During his ten years in the Provincial Legislature, he held cabinet portfolios as Minister of Government Services; Minister of Multiculturalism, Human Rights and Sports; and, the British Columbia Attorney General.
On February 24, 2000, Mr. Dosanjh was sworn in as the 33 rd Premier of the Province of British Columbia. After serving as Premier until May 2001, Mr. Dosanjh returned to practicing law. He made the leap to federal politics in June 2004 when he was elected Member of Parliament for Vancouver South. He was then appointed Minister of Health on July 20, 2004.
On January 9, 2003, Mr. Dosanjh was honoured by the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in New Delhi as a distinguished recipient of the Pravasi Bharati Sanman Award which recognizes individual excellence in various fields for persons of Indian Origin across the world.
Mr. Dosanjh and his wife Raminder, have three sons Pavel, Aseem and Umber.
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