First commissioner of Northwest Territories
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Nov 06/00) - Bent Gestur Sivertz, the first full-time commissioner of the Northwest Territories, died at his home on Mayne Island Oct. 4. He was 95.
Sivertz was Commissioner of the NWT from 1963 to 1967. He came to the post after a career as a foreign service officer in the department of External Affairs and chief of the Arctic division in the department of Northern Affairs.
He was born in in Victoria, B.C. After graduating from high school, and from 1922 to 1932 he was a seaman and ship's officer in the Merchant Marine.
Sivertz graduated from the University of British Columbia and the Victoria Normal School. He taught school in B.C. from 1926 to 1939.
He served in the Royal Canadian Navy and ran a school for navigation. He retired with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Sivertz was awarded the Order of the British Empire.
Sivertz joined the department of external affairs in 1946 and moved to the department of Northern Affairs in 1950. He served as director of Northern administration from 1957 until 1963 when he was appointed commissioner.
The Hay River arena is named after Sivertz.
After he retired, he and his wife Barbara built and lived in their dream home. Barbara died in 1995
Sivertz had lifelong interest in art, travel and the outdoors.
He was a member of the Union and Thermopylae clubs.
