Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Sioux Lookout, Ontario, Canada
About Walter Assef
- Walter Assef (May 31, 1913 – January 14, 1988) was a Canadian politician, and former Vaudevillian, who served as mayor of the city of Thunder Bay, Ontario.
- He was the first, and so far the only mayor, to have been elected for two discontinuous terms.
- He was first elected in 1973 and served until 1978.
- His second term began when he was re-elected in 1981 and lasted until 1985. Walter Melund Assef was born May 31, 1913 at Sioux Lookout, Ontario to John Hunna Khaleefy Asseff, a native of Hasroun, Lebanon, and Maria Rosa Penteado (variant spelling, Mary Penteado), a native of Brazil.
- He died January 14, 1988. Liberace dined at the home of Walter Assef before performing at the Fort William Gardens on 30 September 1961.As mayor, his nickname was "Jolly Wally".
- Reportedly, Prince Philip coined the term, referring to him as "that jolly little mayor from Thunder Bay".
- His predecessor as mayor Saul Laskin did not see him that way - he found him disruptive and uncooperative.
- By his second term in office, many observers deplored his behavior in council as abusive.One of the issues he campaigned strongly against was the building of a stand-alone arts complex in the city.
- When the Community Auditorium (as it's now known) was built, Walter Assef vowed to never attend the grand opening or ever step inside.
- A populist, Assef once campaigned with a cow.
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