Michael Harcourt (born
1943) became
British Columbia's 30th Premier in
1991, defeating the
Rita Johnston-led Social Credit party in a provincial election. This marked the first time that the B.C.
NDP had been in power since
1975. He resigned as premier in
1995 as the result of "Bingogate", in which NDP insiders used money raised by a charity bingo to fund the party. It was not believed that Harcourt had anything to do with the scandal, but he took responsibility for it. He was succeeded as Premier of B.C. by
Glen Clark who also ended up resigning as the result of a scandal.
Harcourt's previous political experience included serving as a Vancouver Alderman (1972-1980) and as Mayor of Vancouver (1980-1986).
He was injured in a near fatal fall in November 2002 which resulted in a severe spinal-cord injury.
See List of British Columbia premiers.