Robert Carman Coates was a Canadian politician and Cabinet minister.
Occupation
lawyer, politician, writer
Position held
Minister of National Defence, member of the House of Commons of Canada, member of the House of Commons of Canada, member of the House of Commons of Canada
Citizenship
Canada
Born
March 10, 1928
Died
January 11, 2016
Overview
Robert Carman Coates, (March 10, 1928 – January 12, 2016) was a Canadian politician and Cabinet minister.
Early life and education
Coates was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, the son of a cattle buyer.
In 1951 Coates received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Mount Allison University in nearby Sackville, New Brunswick. In 1954, Coates graduated from Dalhousie Law School in Halifax. Prior to his election, Coates was a lawyer and member of the Nova Scotia Barristers' Society.
Political career
Coates was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1957 election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Cumberland, Nova Scotia. Coates was a backbencher during the John Diefenbaker and Joe Clark governments. He was appointed to the Cabinet of Brian Mulroney as Defence Minister following the Tory victory in the 1984 election.
