About John Hamm
John Frederick Hamm (April 8, 1938 – July 12, 2026) was a Canadian physician and politician who served as the 25th premier of Nova Scotia from 1999 to 2006. == Education == Hamm, a graduate of the University of King's College and Dalhousie University, was a family doctor in his hometown of Stellarton, Nova Scotia, and the president of the Nova Scotia Medical Society. == Provincial politics == Hamm entered politics in 1993, becoming the Member of the Legislative Assembly for the riding of Pictou Centre. === Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party === Hamm was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia in 1995, succeeding Terry Donahoe. His party won 14 seats in the 1998 provincial election and held the balance of power in a minority government where both the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party, led by Russell MacLellan and Robert Chisholm, respectively, held nineteen seats. == Premier of Nova Scotia == Hamm's Tories defeated the Liberal minority government on a budget vote on June 17, 1999, and in the subsequent election on July 27, 1999, Hamm was elected Premier, winning 30 of the 52 seats in the provincial legislature. After taking office, Hamm sold or closed government-owned industries such as Sydney Steel. He invested more in education and health care, and implemented some tax cuts. His government was the first to truly balance provincial finances in 25 years, following changes in public-sector accounting practices. In 2001, Hamm was at odds with the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union, trying to legislate nurses back to work after a legal strike.
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