Robert Henry Mooney was a politician 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 served in 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 1922 to 1953.

Early life

Mooney was born on August 10, 1873 in Wingham, Ontario

Wingham, Ontario

Wingham is a community located in the municipality of North Huron, Ontario, Canada, which is located in Huron County...

, the son of Alexander Mooney and Susan Orr. He was educated in Virden, Manitoba

Virden, Manitoba

Virden, Manitoba is a town in southwestern Manitoba. Oil was first discovered in 1951, and Virden has since come to be known as the "Oil Capital of Manitoba"....

. Upon the conclusion of his education, he worked as a farmer. He also worked as an educator for three years, and was a councillor in the Rural Municipality of Pipestone

Pipestone, Manitoba

Pipestone, Manitoba is a community in South Western Manitoba. Located at the corner of highways 2 and 83, Pipestone is approximately half an hour from either Virden or Melita, approximately to the United States border and approximately to the Saskatchewan border...

 from 1911 to 1922.

Term in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba

He was first elected to the Manitoba assembly in the 1922 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1922

Manitoba's general election of July 18, 1922 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.As in the previous election of 1920, the city of Winnipeg elected ten members by the single transferable ballot...

 for the constituency of Virden. Running as a candidate of the United Farmers of Manitoba, he defeated Liberal

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 :...

 incumbent George Clingan

George Clingan

Colonel George Clingan was a soldier and politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1914 to 1922, as a member of the Liberal Party....

 by 677 votes. The United Farmers of Manitoba won the election, and governed as the "Progressive Party

Progressive Party of Manitoba

The Progressive Party of Manitoba, Canada, was a political party that developed from the United Farmers of Manitoba, an agrarian movement that became politically active following World War I...

"; Mooney was returned by acclamation under this label in the 1927 election

Manitoba general election, 1927

Manitoba's general election of 28 June 1927 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This was the first election in Manitoba history to elect members through a single transferable ballot in all constituencies...

.

The Progressives and Liberals merged prior to the 1932 provincial election

Manitoba general election, 1932

Manitoba's general election of June 16, 1932 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This was the second election in Manitoba where the single transferable ballot was used in all electoral divisions...

. Again running as a candidate of the governing coalition, Mooney defeated 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:...

 candidate G.H. Heenan by 432 votes in this election. In the 1936 election

Manitoba general election, 1936

Manitoba's general election of July 27, 1936 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The was the second election in Manitoba after the formation of a Liberal-Progressive alliance in 1932...

, he defeated Conservative O.S. Ross by 205 votes.

Mooney was returned by acclamation in the 1941

Manitoba general election, 1941

Manitoba's general election of April 22, 1941 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This election was held shortly after the formation of a coalition government in December 1940...

 and 1949

Manitoba general election, 1949

Manitoba's general election of November 10, 1949 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.This election pitted the province's coalition government, made up of the Liberal-Progressive Party and the Progressive Conservative Party, against a variety of...

 elections, and defeated a candidate of the CCF in 1945

Manitoba general election, 1945

Manitoba's general election of October 15, 1945 was held to elect Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba, Canada.The 1945 provincial election was extremely different from the previous election, which was held in 1941...

. He served as a government backbencher throughout his entire career in the legislature.

Late life and death

Mooney died on January 30, 1953. In its obituary notice, the Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press

The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....

described him as "one of the quietest men in the house".