Hockin, Thomas A., 1938-

Thomas A. Hockin, educator and politician, was born in London, Ontario in 1938. He was educated at the University of Western Ontario (B.A. hons., 1961), and Harvard University (M.Pub. Admin., 1963; Ph.D., 1966). He married Marion V. Schaefer in 1967. He began teaching Political Science at York University in 1973 and subsequently Business Administration in the University of Western Ontario’s School of Business. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1984 as a Progressive Conservative member for London West and was re-elected in 1988. He was appointed Minister of State (Finance) on 30 June 1986, became Minister of State (Small Business and Tourism) on 31 January 1989, and Minister for Science on 4 January 1993. On 25 June 1993 he was appointed Minister of International Trade in the Kim Campbell cabinet. After his defeat in the 1993 general election he became President of the Invesment Funds Institute of Canada. Hockin led the trade association’s efforts to enhance public understanding of mutual funds and to shape the federal regulatory framework for investment funds until his retirement in 2005. He was also President of the Canadian Institute of Financial Planning until 2005, and serves on the board of the Institute of Corporate Directors and as Chair of the Canadian Educational Standards Institute. After serving as a strategic advisor with Deloitte, Hockin was elected as Executive Director of the Canada, Ireland, and Caribbean Constituency of the International Monetary Fund in December 2009 after his nomination by Jim Flaherty, Canada’s Minister of Finance. He is the author of four books, and several scholarly articles and chapters.