Robert Joseph Morrissey

MORRISSEY, ROBERT JOSEPH, fisher; b. 18 November 1954 in Alberton, son of Bernard Morrissey and Marie O'Connor, both of Sea Cow Pond; Roman Catholic. Morrissey, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1982 for 1st Prince. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1986, 1989, and 1993. Morrissey was elected in the general election of 1996 in the new electoral district of Tignish-Deblois. On 2 May 1986, Morrissey was appointed Minister of Transportation and Public Works. He became Minister of Industry and Minister Responsible for the Prince Edward Island Marketing Agency in 1989. On 15 April 1993, Morrissey was named Minister of Economic Development and Tourism and Minister Responsible for Enterprise PEI. Following the 1996 general election, he held the positions of Opposition House Leader and Opposition critic for finance. While a Member, Morrissey served on the Standing Committee on Privileges, Rules and Private Bills, and the Standing Committee on Community Affairs and Economic Development. He was chair of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. Morrissey was educated at the Tignish Regional High School, Holland College, and at the University of Prince Edward Island. Beginning in 1973, he worked as a fisher out of Sea Cow Pond. Morrissey served as a trustee of the Unit 1 School Board and was chair of the West Prince Community Advisory Board. He was also vice-chair of the Parish Council of St. Simon and St. Jude, and an organizer of the Irish Moss Festival. Robert Morrissey is the great-great-great-grandson of Pierre M. Chiasson, the first Acadian to settle in the Tignish area.