Farquhar Robert Oliver (1904-1989) was elected to the Ontariolegislature as a United Farmers of OntarioMPP at the age of 22 in 1926 - the same year the party lost power after its single term in government. Oliver was re-elected as a UFO MPP in 1929 and was the sole (and last) United Farmers member in the legislture until 1940 when he joined the Ontario Liberal Party and the cabinet of PremierMitchell Hepburn as Minister of Public Works and Welfare. He quit the cabinet in 1942, in protest of Hepburn's leadership as part of a crisis that eventually led to the Premier's resignation, and rejoined the cabinet under new Premier Harry Nixon the next year. Nixon's government was short-lived however, going down to defeat in that year's election. Oliver became Liberal leader in 1945 and served in that position until 1950 when he was replaced by Walter Thomson. However, Thomson was unable to win election to the legislature so Oliver remained house leader and became party leader again from 1954 until 1957. Despite his experience, he was never able to lead his party to victory. Farquhar Oliver retired from the legislature in 1967 and died in 1989 at the age of 85.
