Fred Theodore Klym was a politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 in Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

, Canada

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...

. He was a Progressive Conservative

Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba

The Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba is the only right wing political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is also the official opposition party in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.-Origins and early years:...

 member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba and the lieutenant governor form the Legislature of Manitoba, the legislature of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly in provincial general elections, all in single-member constituencies with first-past-the-post...

 from 1959 to 1969.

Although he had initially planned to become a lawyer and began his studies at the University of Manitoba

University of Manitoba

The University of Manitoba , in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is the largest university in the province of Manitoba. It is Manitoba's most comprehensive and only research-intensive post-secondary educational institution. It was founded in 1877, making it Western Canada’s first university. It placed...

, the Depression intervened, and to assist his family, he changed his educational focus, and transferred to the Manitoba Teacher Training School. Upon graduation, he worked as a school teacher and farmer. He was initially associated with the Liberal-Progressive Party

Manitoba Liberal Party

The Manitoba Liberal Party is a political party in Manitoba, Canada. Its roots can be traced to the late nineteenth-century, following the province's creation in 1870.-Origins and early development :...

, and unsuccessfully sought that party's nomination in St. Clements for the 1953 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1953

Manitoba's general election of June 8, 1953 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. This was the first election held in Manitoba after the breakup of a ten-year coalition government led by the Liberal-Progressives and Progressive Conservatives...

. He registered as an Independent Liberal-Progressive candidate after losing the nomination to Stanley Copp

Stanley Copp

Stanley Copp born 1915 was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a Liberal-Progressive from 1953 to 1958....

 by six votes, but withdrew before election day.

Klym later switched to the Progressive Conservative Party, and was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1959 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1959

Manitoba's general election of May 14, 1959 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It resulted in a majority victory for the Progressive Conservative Party under the leadership of Dufferin Roblin...

, defeating Liberal-Progressive incumbent William Lucko

William Lucko

William Lucko was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba as a Liberal-Progressive from 1949 to 1959....

 by 371 votes in the Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

-area riding of Springfield. He defeated Lucko again by 431 votes in the 1962 election

Manitoba general election, 1962

Manitoba's general election of December 16, 1962 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It resulted in a second majority victory for the Progressive Conservative Party under the leadership of Dufferin Roblin...

, and by 584 votes in that of 1966

Manitoba general election, 1966

The Manitoba general election held on June 23, 1966, was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada. It resulted in a third consecutive majority win for the Progressive Conservative Party led by Dufferin Roblin...

. On the latter occasion, Richard Loeb of the New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party of Manitoba

The New Democratic Party of Manitoba is a social-democratic political party in Manitoba, Canada. It is the provincial wing of the federal New Democratic Party, and is a successor to the Manitoba Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...

 finished second.

Klym was a solid backbench supporter of the governments of Dufferin Roblin

Dufferin Roblin

Dufferin "Duff" Roblin, PC, CC, OM was a Canadian businessman and politician. Known as "Duff," he served as the 14th Premier of Manitoba from 1958 to 1967. Roblin was appointed to the Canadian Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. In the government of Brian Mulroney, he served as...

 and Walter Weir

Walter Weir

Walter C. Weir was a politician who served as the 15th Premier of Manitoba from 1967 to 1969.Weir was born in High Bluff, Manitoba, and worked as a funeral director. He served as chairman of the Minnedosa Hospital Board from 1955 to 1957, and of the Minnedosa Town Council from 1958 to 1959...

. He was instrumental in the creation of the Alfred Hole Goose Sanctuary, located within Whiteshell Provincial Park, and was an ardent supporter of the construction of the Red River Floodway - the floodway created to protect the City of Winnipeg from the nearly annual spring flooding of the Red River.

He ran in the 1969 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1969

The Manitoba General Election of June 25, 1969 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was a watershed moment in the province's political history. The social-democratic New Democratic Party emerged for the first time as the largest party in...

 in the significantly redistributed riding of Lac du Bonnet, and was defeated by Samuel Uskiw of the NDP.