Herb Dhaliwal, Indian-Canadian businessman and politician, 3rd Canadian Minister of Natural Resources
Harbance Singh (Herb) Dhaliwal, PC (born December 12, 1952) is a Canadian politician and businessman.
He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1993 election as the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Vancouver South.
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien recommended Dhaliwal's appointment to Cabinet (the first Indian-Canadian to become a federal cabinet minister) in 1997 as Minister of Revenue. In 1999, he became Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and in 2002 he was appointed Minister of Natural Resources and Minister with political responsibility for British Columbia.
Dhaliwal was a firm supporter of Chrétien against Paul Martin's attempt to force the Liberal leader to retire. As a result, Martin's campaign team targeted Dhaliwal and successfully took over his riding association. Dhaliwal publicly denounced Martin's campaign team for this and criticized them for restricting access to Liberal Party membership forms.
When Chrétien announced his resignation, Dhaliwal briefly considered running in the 2003 Liberal leadership campaign, but decided against it. Several months later, he endorsed Martin for leader and said he would be willing to serve in a Martin cabinet. However, on December 3, 2003, he announced that he would not be running for re-election.