New Deputy Minister of Education Named

PREMIER'S OFFICE -New Deputy Minister of Education Named

Dennis Cochrane has been named Nova Scotia's new deputy minister of education, Premier John Hamm announced today.

Mr. Cochrane is currently deputy minister of education in New Brunswick. He has a long and distinguished career in education and public service.

"Mr. Cochrane brings broad personal and professional experience to the job. His background, as both an elected official and a senior bureaucrat, gives him a unique and valuable perspective, at a time when the challenge for our education system is to meet new demands with finite resources," said Premier Hamm.

Mr. Cochrane has been a teacher and principal, mostly at the high school and junior high levels, and a senior administrator in the New Brunswick school system. He served on the Moncton city council from 1977 to 1984, including four years as mayor. He represented Moncton in the House of Commons from 1984 to 1988, and was a member of the New Brunswick legislature and leader of the Progressive Conservative party from 1991 to 1995.

Mr. Cochrane succeeds Lloyd Gillis, who retired as deputy minister of education in July. Since that time, Doug Nauss has been serving as acting deputy. Mr. Cochrane's appointment is effective Feb. 1.