Donald Gelling
| Donald Gelling | |
|---|---|
| Chief Minister of the Isle of Man | |
|
In office First term: 3 December 1996 – 4 December 2001 Second term: 14 December 2004 – 14 December 2006 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor | Timothy Daunt (1st) Ian Macfadyen (1st & 2nd) Paul Haddacks (2nd) |
| Preceded by |
Miles Walker (1st) Richard Corkill (2nd) |
| Succeeded by | Richard Corkill (1st) Tony Brown (2nd) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
5 July 1938 Santon, Isle of Man |
| Nationality | Manx |
| Political party | Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Joan Kelly (m. 1960–present) |
| Children | 3 sons, 1 daughter |
| Profession | Politician |
Donald James Gelling CBE CP, CInstSMM (born 5 July 1938) is a Manx former politician, who is a former Chief Minister of the Isle of Man who served two terms as Head of the Government.
Gelling was born on Tynwald Day (5 July) 1938 in Santon, a village to the south-west of Douglas. He was apprenticed in engineering from 1954 to 1959 and after National Service in the Royal Air Force he became a salesman of agricultural machinery and vehicles. He was a general manager of his company from 1969.
His political career began immediately as his National Service ended in 1961 when he was elected as a Santon Parish Commissioner; he served for 25 years and had five terms as Chairman of the Commissioners. In the Tynwald election of November 1986 Gelling was elected as Member of the House of Keys for Malew and Santon constituency. Like most political figures in the Isle of Man, Gelling does not belong to any political party and has fought elections as an Independent on his own personal record and policies.
Gelling served as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry from 1988 to 1989 and was then appointed to the important role of Minister for Treasury. In this role he kept the Isle of Man's status as a 'tax haven' and moved to build up the financial services sector as Chairman of the Financial Supervision Commission. After the 1996 general election, Gelling was elected Chief Minister of the Isle of Man.
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