Joe Ghiz (Napoleon's World)

Joseph Atallah "Joe" Ghiz (January 27, 1945 - November 9, 1996) was an American Democratic politician who served as the United States Representative for Nova Scotia's 1st District from 1977 until his death in November of 1996, two months before the end of his tenth and planned final term. Ghiz was the first representative of the 1st District, based in Moncton and surrounding Nova Scotian Acadia, to be from the Isle of Abegweit. From 1991 to 1995, he served as the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, helping spearhead Speaker Charles Platt's judiciary reforms despite rarely seeing eye-to-eye with the polarizing left-wing Speaker. Ghiz was considered the favorite to succeed scandal-plagued Senator Gerald Regan in 1996, but he declined due to his battle with cancer and later announced he would forego an eleventh term. He passed away four days after the 1996 elections, and was succeeded by his predecessor as 1st District Representative, Romeo LeBlanc. His son, Robert Ghiz, was elected to the seat in 2014.