Alexander Kenneth Maclean, (October 18, 1869 – July 31, 1942) was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 politician.

Born in Upper North Sydney, Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, Maclean was educated at Pictou Academy

Pictou Academy

Pictou Academy , founded in 1816 by the late Dr. Thomas McCulloch, is a secondary school in Pictou, Nova Scotia. Prior to the twentieth century, it was a liberal nonsectarian college, a grammar school, an academy and then a secondary school. Pictou Academy's current principal is James Ryan. The...

 and Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...

. A lawyer, practising in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...

, Maclean first ran unsuccessfully for the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 in the 1900 federal election

Canadian federal election, 1900

The Canadian federal election of 1900 was held on November 7 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Canada. As a result of the election, the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, was re-elected to a second majority government, defeating the...

 for the electoral district of Lunenburg

Lunenburg (electoral district)

Lunenburg was a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1925 and from 1949 to 1953. Its boundary was that of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.-History:...

. In 1901, he was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

 for Lunenburg. A Nova Scotia Liberal, he served until 1904 when he was elected to the House of Commons representing Lunenburg.

He resigned as an MP in 1909, when he was re-elected to the House of Assembly and was appointed Attorney General and Commissioner of Crown Lands in the cabinet of George Henry Murray

George Henry Murray

George Henry Murray was a Nova Scotia politician who served as the province's ninth Premier for twenty-seven years, the longest unbroken tenure for a head of government in Canadian history. He was born in Grand Narrows, Nova ScotiaDespite his later political longevity, Murray's early political...

. He served until 1911, when he was elected again to the House of Commons for the electoral district of Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

. As a result of the Conscription Crisis of 1917

Conscription Crisis of 1917

The Conscription Crisis of 1917 was a political and military crisis in Canada during World War I.-Background:...

 he crossed the floor on October 10, 1917 to support the Unionist government of Sir Robert Laird Borden and was a minister without portfolio

Minister without Portfolio

A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister that does not head a particular ministry...

 in the Cabinet. He left the government in 1920 and was re-elected as a Liberal in the 1921 general election

Canadian federal election, 1921

The Canadian federal election of 1921 was held on December 6, 1921 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 14th Parliament of Canada. The Union government that had governed Canada through the First World War was defeated, and replaced by a Liberal government under the young leader...

. He resigned his seat in 1923 and returned to private life.