Gerard Janssen was appointed Minister of Small Business, Tourism and Culture on November 1, 2000.

He has served as Government Whip since the fall of 1991 and sits on the board of the Insurance Corporation of B.C.

Mr. Janssen was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in a 1988 byelection and was re-elected in the 1991 and 1996 general elections. He represents the riding of Alberni.

Before being elected to the Legislature, Mr. Janssen served as president of the Citizens First Committee and as secretary of the Port Alberni Development Society. He was also a director and two-term president of the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Born in Venlo, Holland, Mr. Janssen immigrated to Canada with his parents in 1952. A jeweller and watchmaker by profession, he owned the business started by his parents in 1956.

Gerard Janssen and his wife, Florence, who is a nurse, have two grown children.