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 In our monthly "First Jobs" series we have talked to members of some
exclusive clubs such as Nobel Prize winners and Super Bowl
champions. This time we talked to those in perhaps the most
exclusive club of all: former heads of state.
Lofty beginnings? Hardly.
Kim Campbell, Former Prime Minister, Canada
Now: Founding Principal, Peter Lougheed Leadership College at the
University of Alberta
First job: Fish processor
“The summer after my first year of university, in 1965, I traveled a
thousand miles north of my hometown of Vancouver to work at the
Royal Fish Plant in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a job I got
through a friend of my sister. I primarily worked on the ‘fish stick
line,' which processed the smaller pieces of halibut.
"I remember how big the fish were - sometimes weighing more than 300
pounds - and how strong the person who made the initial cuts had to
be. An incredibly strong Scandinavian woman named Helga did that job
at our plant, which was unusual, as normally a man did this.
Nonetheless, she was paid less than a man would have been, and even
less than the man who assisted her by moving the cut fish.
“As a student, I was ecstatic to be making the incredible rate of
$1.82 an hour. What a great education for a city girl like me, whose
fellow workers accepted me with warmth notwithstanding my 'southern'
ways. It was a wonderful community, and the stunning view of Prince
Rupert Harbor while I was scrubbing the freezer racks (in my
gumboots, overalls and turban) is a memory that stays with me
still.”
Laura Chinchilla, Former President, Costa Rica
Now: Fellow, Georgetown University's Institute of Politics and
Public Service
First job: Bookseller
"I worked at the most important bookstore in San Jose, called
Universal. This was around Christmas time, and I sold and packed
Christmas books. I became a real expert in packing things.
"I will always remember that job because it allowed me to travel by
myself through Central America. At the time many nations were at
war, so my parents didn't really agree with the idea.
"But I told my parents, 'I'm 18, and you're not going to stop me.' I
didn't tell them about all my adventures, though - I was
interrogated by the Honduran military, and was sexually harassed in
Nicaragua. And when eventually I ran out of money, I came back
home."
Fredrik Reinfeldt, former Prime Minister, Sweden
Now: Chair, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
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First job: Onion seller
“I had all sorts of jobs from a young age. At 15, I had two
part-time jobs: One selling books in my neighborhood during the
Christmas holidays, and the other packaging sticky tape in a
factory.
"Later on I worked selling seeds and onions. Besides earning some
pocket money, these early jobs gave me a real appreciation of all
the hard work that underpin our modern societies. I actually had the
pleasure visiting that same seed-and-onion company some 30 years
later, while traveling through Sweden as Prime Minister.”
Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister, Australia
Now: President, Asia Society Policy Institute
First job: Raising chickens
"When I was about 9 years old, my mum bought me a dozen chickens and
some feed, and told me to raise them into egg layers. We lived on a
farm near a little town called Eumundi (population 200) in rural
Australia. I endured a major fox attack which took out three of my
best egg-layers. But with the remaining ones, I got to sell about 4
dozen eggs each week, at 4 shillings a dozen, with loyal customers
in town.
"What did I learn? Keep your customers happy. And be alert to
external shocks, like foxes. A bit like the Global Financial Crisis
after I became Prime Minister.
"A couple of years later, mum got me a summer holiday job packing
groceries in Nambour (population 8,000). What I hated most was
carrying boxes and bags to customers cars. They were bloody heavy
for a 12-year-old.
"One old lady in her eighties was a regular customer each month. But
she bought in bulk. Ten pounds of sugar, ten pounds of flour, ten
pounds of rice, several bunches of bananas. Result: Taking all that
half a mile down the road, at pace, to make sure the old dear didn't
miss her train. For which I was rewarded with - a free banana! I
hated bananas."
(Editing by Beth Pinsker and Andrew Hay)
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