Thomas Herman Johnson

Who was Thomas Herman Johnson?

Thomas Herman Johnson was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1907 to 1922, and was a prominent cabinet minister in the government of Tobias C. Norris. Johnson was a member of the Liberal Party.

Johnson was born in Iceland, and moved to Manitoba with his family in 1878. He was educated in Winnipeg public schools, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Gustavus Adolphus College. After worked as a teacher, he entered the law office of Richards & Bradshaw in 1895 and was admitted to the Bar of the Province in 1900. He subsequently worked as a barrister-at-law, and was also appointed census commissioner for Manitoba in 1901. Johnson served on the Winnipeg School Board from 1904 to 1907. In religion, he was a Lutheran.

He was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in the 1907 provincial election, defeating candidates from the Conservative and Labour parties in Winnipeg West. He was re-elected over Conservative A.J. Andrews by 240 votes in the 1910 election. Following redistribution for the 1914 election, he defeated Andrews again by 1,050 votes in Winnipeg Centre "A". Manitoba was governed by Rodmond P.