It was on this date in 2011 that Alison Redford of Alberta became her province’s first-ever female Premier. One week earlier she’d been elected PC leader in Alberta.Premier Redford had served in the provincial cabinet of Ed Stelmach as Minister of Justice and Attorney General. Before that, she had brought a remarkable resume to politics, having served as the senior policy advisor to the Rt. Hon. Joe Clark at External Affairs and in the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s PMO.Ms. Redford had also worked at senior levels in the Commonwealth and the United Nations where her special expertise on human rights in Africa was much sought after. Redford even worked for the great Nelson Mandela in South Africa.As Premier, she had a rocky time in her party and in the province’s top jobs. Her personal expenses were a matter of controversy and she also faced a caucus revolt. By March 2014 it became clear she had to resign as Premier.While I’ve long felt Premier Redford was not treated fairly, her place in history is secure.  She holds the distinction of having served as the first woman Premier of Alberta – earning her way to that role first by gaining the support of her party and then by having the decision confirmed by provincial voters who gave her a majority mandate.[caption id="attachment_588352" align="alignleft" width="450"] Alison Redford, at her swearing-in as Premier of Alberta[/caption]Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist.  He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy.  A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.