Edgar Gerhart

Edgar Henry Gerhart (December 18, 1923 – May 25, 1992) was a lawyer judge and provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1952 to 1971 sitting with the Social Credit caucus in government. During his time in office he served as a cabinet minister in the governments of Ernest Manning and Harry Strom from 1967 to 1971.

Early life

Edgar Henry Gerhart was born on December 18, 1923 in the town of Drumheller, Alberta. His father was Clarence Gerhart. He married his wife Margaret Tiffin on March 4, 1944 at Calgary.

Political career

Gerhart ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature for the first time in the 1952 Alberta general election. He won a seat as a Social Credit candidate in the electoral district of Edmonton taking the fifth place seat.

Gerhart ran for a second term in office in the 1955 Alberta general election. He was re-elected winning the final seat in the district.

The Edmonton electoral district was broken up into single member riding's in the 1959 Boundary Redistribution. Gerhart ran for re-election in the new electoral district of Edmonton North West. He faced a hotly contested race for the new seat and was nearly defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate Ned Feehan. Gerhart won the four way race with about 40% of the popular vote.