Premier of Alberta, Canada. He served as the 12th Premier of Alberta from 1992 to 2006 as a Progressive Conservative. His nickname "King Ralph" referred to his political longevity. A sometimes controversial figure, he occasionally got into hot water over his blunt comments that he made to the press during and after his tenure as Alberta's premier. His father was a one-time wrestler and road contractor and his mother worked as a waitress. His parents separated when he was 6 years old and he was raised by his mother, step-father, and his maternal grandparents. At the age of 17, he dropped out of high school and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force reserves. After finally completing high school, he attended Calgary Business College in Calgary, Alberta and Athabasca University in Athabasca, Alberta. From 1963 to 1969 he was a public relations official at Red Cross and United Way's offices in Calgary and in 1969 he became a television and radio reporter and rose to public prominence. He was the Senior Civic Affairs reporter with CFCN-TV and CFCN radio. He gained his first political experience when he was elected mayor of Calgary on October 15, 1980. While mayor, the city was enjoying an economic boom, attracting many unskilled laborers from all over the country. He gained unfavorable national attention by blaming eastern "bums and scums" for straining the city's social services and police. In 1988 Calgary hosted the Winter Olympics during his tenure as mayor. Prior to entering provincial politics, Klein considered himself a Liberal Party supporter, although he did support the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Brian Mulroney in the 1988 federal election. In 1989 he made the transition from municipal to provincial politics, becoming an elected member of the legislative assembly, representing the Calgary-Elbow district. He was named the minister of environment in Don Getty's government. He retained the title "the Houourable" for the duration of his membership in the Executive Council of Alberta. In December 1992 he was elected leader of the Alberta Progressive Conservative (PC) party and became the Premier of Alberta on December 14, 1992. He led the PCs to victory in the 1993 election, winning 51 of the 83 seats in the legislature, and almost 45% of the popular vote. In 1997 he was re-elected, this time with 51% of the popular vote and winning 63 of the 83 seats in the legislature. In the 2001 election, he received his highest amount of support ever, winning 62% of the popular vote and 74 of the 83 legislative seats. In 2004 he was re-elected for a fourth term with a reduced majority, as he only won 47% of the vote, and only 62 out of the 83 legislative seats. On December 14, 2006 he resigned as premier and was replaced by Ed Stelmach. The following month, he joined the Canadian law firm Borden Ladner Gervais as a senior business adviser. On March 20, 2010, he appeared on his own television game show called "On the Clock," on the Crossroads Television System network. While sitting on a golden throne, he evaluates the responses and awards "Ralph Bucks" to the contestants whose answers he found the best. The person who has the most "Ralph Bucks" at the end of the game is declared the winner. In December 2010 he was reportedly in poor health, suffering from COPD, and the following April, he was reported to also have Pick's disease, a form of progressive dementia. He died in Calgary due to complications from these diseases at the age of 70. Among his honors include the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002), the Alberta Centennial Medal (2005), the Order of La Pleiade from the Assembly of La Francophonie, Officer of the Legion of Honour by France (2008), appointed to the Alberta Order of Excellence (2010), and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012). He received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from University of Calgary in 2011 and was made a member of the Order of Canada in late 2012.