Walter Russell Shaw, was a Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

 politician

Politician

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

.

A native of West River, Shaw was educated at Prince of Wales College

Prince of Wales College

Prince of Wales College is a former university college, which was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. PWC merged with St. Dunstan's University in 1969 to form the University of Prince Edward Island....

, the Nova Scotia Agricultural College

Nova Scotia Agricultural College

Nova Scotia Agricultural College is a Canadian university college located in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, a village near the town of Truro. NSAC was officially founded February 14, 1905. In the early years, NSAC focused on educating farmers in aspects of field and animal husbandry...

 and the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

. On his return to Prince Edward Island, he farmed for several years, becoming a noted livestock breeder. Shaw worked as a civil servant in the provincial department of agriculture from 1934 to 1954, rising to the position of deputy minister. He also helped found the PEI Federation of Agriculture serving as its first general secretary

General secretary

-International intergovernmental organizations:-International nongovernmental organizations:-Sports governing bodies:...

. He entered politics in 1957 when he was chosen leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. He led the party to victory in the 1959 election becoming the 22nd Premier

Premier of Prince Edward Island

The Premier of Prince Edward Island is the first minister for the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. They are the province's head of government and de facto chief executive.The current Premier of Prince Edward Island is Robert Ghiz.-See also:...

 at the age of 71.

The Shaw government supported the expansion of the province's food processing industry, instituted a regional system of high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

s and revamped the employment system and pay scale for the civil service

Civil service

The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....

. Despite its support for the farming industry, Shaw's government failed to reverse the decline in the number of family farms and was unable to successfully diversify the economy. His government was defeated by the PEI Liberal Party in 1966 though Shaw remained in the legislature as leader of the opposition

Leader of the Opposition (PEI)

The Leader of the Opposition in Prince Edward Island is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party not in government in the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island.This list is incomplete...

 until 1970 when he retired at the age of 82.

In 1971, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada

Order of Canada

The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...

. Shaw was inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1980.