Svend Robinson

Svend Robinson (born March 4, 1952) is a Canadian former politician. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 2004, representing the suburban Vancouver-area constituency of Burnaby for the New Democratic Party. When he chose not to run again in the June 2004 election, he was one of the longest-serving members in the House of Commons, having been elected and re-elected for seven consecutive terms.

He is noted as the first Member of Parliament in Canadian history to come out as gay while in office.

Early life

Robinson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, of Danish descent, to Edith Jensen and Wayne Robinson. His father opposed the Vietnam War and brought his family to live in Canada. Robinson attended high school at Burnaby North Secondary. He later obtained a law degree from the University of British Columbia, and completed post-graduate work in international law at the London School of Economics. He was awarded the highest overall honour at the University of British Columbia in 1972, the Sherwood Lett Memorial Scholarship. He was also active in university politics, serving on the Senate and the first student to be elected to the university's board of governors.