Ralph Phillip Klein was born in Calgary, Alberta on November 1, 1942 to Phil and Florence Klein. He attended school in Calgary, but interrupted his high school studies to enlist in the Canadian Air Force. Upon leaving the service, Ralph Klein completed his high school education, eventually becoming principal of the Calgary Business College.

From 1963 to 1969 Ralph Klein pursued a public relations career with the Alberta Division of the Red Cross and the United Way of Calgary and District. For the next eleven years, he was the Senior Civic Affairs reporter with CFCN Television and Radio. He married Colleen Hamilton in 1972.

On October 15, 1980 Ralph Klein was elected Calgary’s 32nd Mayor, one of only two mayors born in the city. He was re-elected in 1983 and 1986. During his time as mayor he had several major accomplishments including the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, the building of Calgary’s Light Rail Transit System and protection of the Bow River.

Ralph Klein was elected MLA for Calgary-Elbow on March 20, 1989 and on April 14, 1989 was appointed Minister of Environment. Three years later on December 5, 1992, he was elected leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and was sworn in as Alberta’s 12th Premier on December 14, 1992, replacing Don Getty. Several months later, in June 1993, he was elected to his first term as Premier. Albertans returned Ralph Klein and his government to office for a second term in March 1997 with an increased majority. He was re-elected in March 2001 and again in November 2004. During his tenure as Premier, Klein also served as President of the Executive Council (1992-2006), Minister of Federal and Intergovernmental Affairs (1993-1994), Minister of Economic Development and Tourism (1994-1995), and Executive Chair of the Alberta Economic Development Authority (1994-[2006?]. As President of the Executive Council, Klein was the authority to which the Personnel Administration Office reported from 1992-1997.

Klein’s foremost success as Premier was the elimination of Alberta’s $2.5 billion deficit, which he achieved through deep cuts to healthcare, education and other social programs; the 2002 Alberta Teacher’s Strike is one notable result of these actions. While Klein’s early years as Premier were marked by frugality, he later chose to share the provincial surplus with Albertans, distributing a $400 Prosperity Bonus, colloquially known as “Ralph Bucks,” to all citizens in 2005. Some Albertans criticized the Bonus, believing the money should have been spent by the government to benefit the public as a whole. After more than 13 years in office, Ralph Klein formally resigned as premier on September 20, 2006. He resigned his Calgary-Elbow seat in January 2007.

Over the years, Ralph Klein has received a number of honours and awards including the Order of St. John in 1986. In 1988, he received the Alberta Achievement Award, the Lion’s Club Medal of Distinction for Service to Humanity, and was inducted into the Olympic Order. In 1989, he was selected as Calgarian of the Decade by the Calgary Herald. In 1992, he received a Governor General's Award and in 1993 he became the second white person in history to be adopted into the Siksika (Blackfoot) Nation and was given the name Otskoipiiksi (Bluebird). In 1994 Premier Klein was named Man of the Year by the International Young Entrepreneurs Organization over Boris Yeltsin, also nominated that year; was awarded the Colin M. Brown Freedom Medal by the National Citizens' Coalition; and was named B'nai B'rith's Citizen of the Year. In 1995 he was named Calgary's Outstanding Citizen of the Century, and the first recipient of the Fraser Institute's International Fiscal Performance Award. In 1996, the Blood Tribe made Ralph Klein an honorary chief in the Kainai Chieftainship. In 1998, Premier Klein was distinguished with an Honourary Bachelor of Applied Technology Degree from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). In June 2000, the Premier became an honourary degree recipient at Olds College, receiving the Agriculture Technology and Entrepreneurship Applied Degree. During a trip to China and Korea in June 2004, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in Political Science from Kangwon National University in Korea.

Although Klein was a widely popular political figure, his tenure as Premier was not without controversy. In November 2001, Klein visited a homeless shelter in Edmonton. Intoxicated, he became argumentative and was witnessed throwing money down and telling shelter drop-ins to “get a job.” This was the catalyst for Klein to publically admit his drinking problem and vow to address it. He did so through a nationally-covered press conference, and soon after received hundreds of messages of support. Despite this and other similar incidents, Klein remained popular and his transgressions were forgiven by the majority of the public.

Following his retirement, Ralph Klein took a position at the Calgary law firm Borden Ladner Gervais as a senior business adviser and he served the first term in the Ralph Klein Chair in Media Studies at Mount Royal University. He also received a number of awards, including induction into the Alberta Award of Excellence in 2010, an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from the University of Calgary in 2011. In 2012, his wife Colleen accepted the Order of Canada and a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal on his behalf.

Suffering from pulmonary disease and dementia, Ralph Klein moved to a Calgary care facility in 2011, where he passed away March 29, 2013.