Gordon H. Fitzgerald (born January 19, 1927) is a former Nova Scotia politician and former Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.

A lawyer by profession, Fitzgerald was first elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

 in the 1960 provincial election

Nova Scotia general election, 1960

The 24th Nova Scotia general election was held on 7 June 1960 to elect members of the 47th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservatives....

 representing Halifax Northwest

Halifax Northwest

Halifax Northwest was a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elected one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. It existed from 1956 to 1967....

 for the Progressive Conservative and was re-elected in 1963

Nova Scotia general election, 1963

The 25th Nova Scotia general election was held on 8 October 1963 to elect members of the 48th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservatives.* party was then the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation...

. In 1967

Nova Scotia general election, 1967

The 26th Nova Scotia general election was held on 30 May 1967 to elect members of the 49th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Progressive Conservative Party....

 he was elected in the new riding of Halifax Cobequid

Halifax Cobequid

Halifax Cobequid was a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elected one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. It existed from 1967 to 1978...

. In 1969, he was appointed Speaker and served until the 1970 provincial election

Nova Scotia general election, 1970

The 27th Nova Scotia general election was held on 13 October 1970 to elect members of the 50th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was won by the Liberal party....

 in which the Conservative government was defeated and Fitzgerald lost his seat.

Following his defeat, Fitzgerald returned to his legal practice and was one of the province's top trial lawyers in the 1970s. In 1978, he was convicted for falsifying tax return forms, and was disbarred by the Nova Scotia Bar Association for fraud. In 1980, he was convicted of raping

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 a female client in his office and sentenced to five years imprisonment. He was parole

Parole

Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...

d in 1981 after serving ten months of his sentence and was pardoned in 1992.

In 1982, Fitzgerald was awarded a five month $15,000 contract by the Nova Scotia Liquor Commission to study proposed changes to the Liquor Control Act. The appointment was met with outrage by the Opposition in the House of Assembly and Fitzgerald resigned the appointment.

Fitzgerald attempted a political comeback in the 1993 provincial election

Nova Scotia general election, 1993

The 33rd Nova Scotia general election was held on May 25, 1993 to elect members of the 56th House of Assembly of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The Liberals under John Savage won a landslide victory over the unpopular Progressive Conservatives under Premier Donald Cameron, while Alexa...

 and contested the Progressive Conservative nomination in Dartmouth South

Dartmouth South

Dartmouth South was a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elected one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.The district was created in 1967, but was redistributed in 2003...

 to run against Liberal

Liberal Party of Nova Scotia

The Liberal Party of Nova Scotia is a political party in Nova Scotia, Canada.-Origins:The party is descended from the pre-Confederation Reformers in Nova Scotia who coalesced around Joseph Howe demanding the institution of responsible government...

 leader John Savage

John Savage (politician)

John Patrick Savage, OC, ONS was the 23rd Premier of Nova Scotia, Canada between 1993 and 1997.- Welsh birth :Born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, and keeping his Welsh accent to the end, Savage graduated from Queen's University of Belfast and practiced as a Medical doctor in Newport until he...

. Fitzgerald won the nomination by a margin of 29 votes to 25 for Dartmouth city councillor Colin May but Conservative Premier Donald Cameron

Donald William Cameron

Donald William Cameron was the 22nd Premier of Nova Scotia, Canada, from February 1991 to June 1993.His administration was known for a smaller cabinet, supporting anti-discrimination measures, and amending the human rights act to extend protection to gays and lesbians...

refused to sign Fitzgerald's nomination papers because Fitzgerald was a convicted rapist. May was awarded the nomination instead.