Ralph Klein  Ralph Phillip Klein, (November 1, 1942 March 29, 2013) was a Canadian politician who served as the 12th Premier of Alberta and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta from 1992 until his retirement in 2006. Klein's tenure as premier ended when the Alberta Progressive Conservatives' new leader, Ed Stelmach, assumed office December 14, 2006, exactly fourteen years after Klein first became Premier. His nickname was "King Ralph", a reference to his political longevity and his management style. Klein continued the PC dynasty, winning four consecutive majority governments. Klein was born in Calgary, to Phillip Andrew Klein (1917-2014) and Florence Harper (1924–2004). His paternal grandparents were immigrants, from Germany and England, respectively. His parents separated when he was 6 and he lived with his maternal grandparents in the city's north end. His father, Phil, was born in Rocky Mountain House, Alberta, grew up poor and rode the rails during the Great Depression in search of work. In the early 1940s he married Florence Harper, a waitress, and lived in her parents' basement in Calgary while trying to make ends meet working in construction. After separating from his mother, Klein's father worked as a professional wrestler in the Alberta circuit for most of the 1950s using the name Phil "The Killer" Klein and later became a businessman. Ralph Klein grew up in a working-class part of Calgary and dropped out of high school, joined the RCAF reserves, then completed high school later in life. Klein attended Calgary Business College, and later served as president of that institution. He later studied at Athabasca University. He was public relations official at the Red Cross and United Way's offices in Calgary from 1963 to 1969. From 1969 to 1980 he was a television reporter. Klein rose to public prominence in Calgary as a radio and television personality. He was the Senior Civic Affairs reporter with CFCN-TV and CFCN radio. Klein gained his first political experience when he was elected 32nd mayor of Calgary, Alberta, on 15 October 1980, one of two mayors born in Calgary. He was re-elected in 1983 and 1986. During his tenure he presided over the 1988 Winter Olympics, the first Canadian city to host the games. The Calgary bid proposed by the Canadian Olympic Association (COA), would spend nearly three times what the rival Vancouver group proposed. Ralph Klein and other civic leaders crisscrossed the world attempting to woo International Olympic Committee (IOC) delegates.