Harry Van Mulligen

Harry Van Mulligen was born in the Netherlands and immigrated as a young child to Brandon in 1956. There he attended public schools and then graduated from Brandon University in 1968 with a BA in Psychology.  At BU he was active in student government and served as Vice President of the Student Union.  Following graduation he worked in northern Manitoba as a social worker for the Manitoba Government. He moved to Regina in 1974 to pursue a Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Regina and subsequently worked as a social researcher and adult education programmer at the university.

In Regina, Mr. Van Mulligen became active in local politics and served as a City Councilor between 1979 and 1985.  He then was elected six times as a Member of the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly between 1986 and 2009. As an MLA, he served as Chair of the Public Accounts Committee and as Deputy Speaker before being appointed to the provincial Cabinet. In Cabinet, he held several positions including Government House Leader and Minister of Finance.  At other times his ministerial responsibilities included Social Services, Municipal Affairs, Intergovernmental Relations, Trade Policy, and SaskEnergy. When he retired he said the work he did as Social Services Minister in developing the KidsFirst program, which helps vulnerable families, was among his most satisfying.

Harry received the Distinguished Alumni Award for Career Achievement in 2021.