Bill Rowe

Who is Bill Rowe?

William N. Rowe QC is a former politician, lawyer, broadcaster, and writer in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. He is married to Penelope Ayre Rowe of St. John’s, who is a member of the Order of Canada. They have a son, Dorian, a daughter, Toby, and three grandchildren.

Rowe was born in Grand Bank and is the son of the late Liberal Senator Frederick William Rowe and the late Edith Laura Butt.

Rowe attended Memorial University of Newfoundland where he earned a Bachelor of Arts. He studied for a Bachelor of Law at the University of New Brunswick on a Sir James Hamet Dunn Scholarship, and went on to become a Rhodes Scholar, graduating with an Honours M.A in Law from the University of Oxford.

He entered politics and was elected to the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly five times, first at the age of twenty-four. He was appointed, at twenty-six, as a Cabinet Minister in the Government of Joey Smallwood and became responsible for several departments. He was later elected as Leader of the Opposition, holding that position from 1977 to 1979. He resigned his position prior to the 1979 general election, in favour of Don Jamieson, but kept his own seat.