View source for Leonard Percy de Wolfe Tilley

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{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Leonard Percy de Wolfe Tilley
| image               = LeonardPDTilley.jpg
| imagesize           = 250px
| caption             = ''Leonard P. D. Tilley speaking on Parliament Hill in 1927''
| order               = 21st [[Premier of New Brunswick]]
| term_start          = June 1, 1933
| term_end            = July 16, 1935
| predecessor         = [[Charles Dow Richards|Charles D. Richards]]
| successor           = [[Allison Dysart]]
| monarch             = [[George V]]
| lieutenant_governor = [[Hugh Havelock McLean]]<br>[[Murray MacLaren]]
| office1             = [[Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick|MLA]] for [[Saint John Centre (electoral district)|Saint John City]]
| term_start1         = June 20, 1912
| term_end1           = October 9, 1920
| predecessor1        = Robert Maxwell
| successor1          = [[Robert Thomas Hayes]]
| alongside1          = John Edward Wilson, John R. Campbell, [[Charles B. Lockhart]], [[Frank L. Potts]], [[William Francis Roberts]]
| term_start2         = August 10, 1925
| term_end2           = June 27, 1935
| predecessor2        = [[Walter Edward Foster|Walter E. Foster]]
| successor2          = [[A. P. Paterson]]
| alongside2          = James Lewis, [[Walter W. White]], [[William Henry Harrison (Canadian politician)|W. Henry Harrison]], [[Miles E. Agar]], [[William Francis Roberts]], [[William Francis Roberts]]
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1870|5|21|mf=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Ottawa, Ontario]], Canada
| death_date          = {{death date and age |1947|12|26|1870|5|21}}
| death_place         = [[Saint John, New Brunswick]], Canada
| party               = [[Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick|Conservative]]
| spouse              = Laura Tremaine Richardson (m. 1903)
| relations           = [[DeWolf family]]
| father = [[Samuel Leonard Tilley]]
}}
'''Leonard Percy de Wolfe Tilley''' (May 21, 1870 &ndash; December 26, 1947) was a [[New Brunswick]] lawyer, politician and the 21st [[premier of New Brunswick]].

Tilley was born in [[Ottawa|Ottawa, Ontario, Canada]] the son of [[Samuel Leonard Tilley]], one of the [[Fathers of Confederation]], and [[DeWolf family|Alice Starr (Chipman) Tilley]] (1844-1921). He grew up in Ottawa and [[Fredericton, New Brunswick|Fredericton]]. Tilley was educated at the [[University of New Brunswick]] and then studied law at [[Dalhousie Law School]]. He articled in law with Sir Frederick Barker, was called to the bar in 1893 and set up practice in [[Saint John, New Brunswick|Saint John]]. He also served as a captain in the militia and was Chief Recruiting Officer for the province in 1914.

Tilley was elected to the provincial [[legislature]] in 1916 as a [[Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick|Conservative]] [[Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick|MLA]] and became a [[Executive Council of New Brunswick|cabinet minister]] in 1925 under Premier [[John B. M. Baxter]]. In 1931 Baxter's successor, [[Charles D. Richards]] made Tilley [[Department of Natural Resources (New Brunswick)|Minister of Lands and Mines]], a position he held until succeeding Richards in 1933 as Premier. The Conservative government, despite two changes in premiers, was unable to deal with the [[Great Depression]] or maintain public confidence and Tilley's government was defeated in the 1935 election.

During the federal [[Liberal-Conservative Party]]'s [[1927 Conservative leadership convention|1927 national convention]] in [[Winnipeg]], Tilley was chosen to nominate [[R. B. Bennett]] as one of six leadership candidates. Bennett was an old friend with whom he had attended both elementary school and university. Tilley's endorsement of Bennett was blunt and prescient: "I nominate a gentleman whom, I believe, will be a winner." Bennett won the leadership race and became Prime Minister three years later.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boyko |first=John |title=Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged and Changed a Nation |publisher=Goose Lane Editions |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-86942-669-2 |edition=2nd |location=Fredericton, New Brunswick |pages=154}}</ref> 

After leaving politics, Tilley became a county court [[judge]] for King and Albert Counties serving from 1935 to 1945. He also served as Admiralty Judge for New Brunswick.

Tilley died in [[Saint John, New Brunswick|Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada]] at the age of 77.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7984160/judge_j_l_tilley_former_premier_of/|title=Judge J. L. Tilley, Former Premier Of NB, Dies|work=The Ottawa Journal|date=26 Dec 1947|page=6|via=Newspapers.com|accessdate=24 December 2016}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081219204053/http://www.gnb.ca/legis/leglibbib/special_projects/premiers-bios/english/LPDTilley.pdf  Government of New Brunswick biography] (pdf)

{{s-start}}
{{Canadian cabinet member navigational box header |ministry=Charles_Richards}}
{{ministry box cabinet posts
| post1         = [[Department of Natural Resources (New Brunswick)|Minister of Lands and Mines]]
| post1years    = 1931-1935
| post1note     =
| post1preceded = [[Charles Dow Richards|Charles D. Richards]]
| post1followed = [[Frederick William Pirie|Frederick W. Pirie]]
}}

{{Canadian cabinet member navigational box header |ministry=John_Baxter}}
{{ministry box cabinet posts
| post1         = [[Executive Council of New Brunswick|President of the Executive Council]]
| post1years    = 1925-1931
| post1note     =
| post1preceded =
| post1followed =
}}
{{s-end}}

{{NBPremiers}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tilley, Leonard Percy de Wolfe}}
[[Category:1870 births]]
[[Category:1947 deaths]]
[[Category:Dalhousie University alumni]]
[[Category:Lawyers in New Brunswick]]
[[Category:Judges in New Brunswick]]
[[Category:Canadian Anglicans]]
[[Category:Members of the Executive Council of New Brunswick]]
[[Category:Premiers of New Brunswick]]
[[Category:Politicians from Ottawa]]
[[Category:DeWolf family|Leonard Percy, Tilley]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick]]