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IQALUIT - Veteran politician and businessman Tagak Curley has filled Nunavut's last cabinet seat following a swearing-in ceremony Jan. 29.

The MLA for Rankin North won the executive council seat in a bid against nominees Fred Schell, MLA for South Baffin, and James Arvaluk, MLA for Tununiq, during a leadership forum Jan. 26.

Tagak Curley, MLA for Rankin Inlet, is sworn-in to cabinet by Peter Ma, Deputy Minister of Finance for the Government of Nunavut, Jan. 29. He has been assigned the Health and Social Services portfolio. - Carolyn Sloan/NNSL photo Iqaluit -

He was later assigned the Health and Social Services portfolio.

"I've been a Northerner most of my life and so I think my experience will be helpful to the premier," said Curley, following the vote. "I've been involved practically at every level of the government operations throughout my lifetime and that experience shouldn't be sitting around wasted."

The founding president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Curley served as a member of the legislative assembly of the Northwest Territories from 1979 to 1987, during which time he held several cabinet portfolios, including minister of Economic Development.

Elected to the Nunavut legislature in 2004 and in 2008, Curley threw his hat in the ring in a bid for the premiership both times.

After losing the bid to Eva Aariak in November, Curley declined a nomination for cabinet.

During his nomination speech at Monday's leadership forum, he explained his change of heart.

"I couldn't run for cabinet in the first round," he said through a translator. "I had to talk to my family and constituents."

He also remarked that had he been unilingual, he would not have accepted the nomination for cabinet.

"Nunavummiut need a person who communicates in both languages," he said.

Curley later clarified that these comments were not directed at unilingual, English-speaking cabinet ministers Keith Peterson, Hunter Tootoo and Daniel Shewchuk.

"What I said was, if I was a unilingual myself, I would not offer my services to be nominated. That's what I said. That's all it meant. If I was a unilingual Inuk, I would not be qualified in my opinion," he said. "That applies to me only, not to anybody else."

The eighth and final cabinet seat had been left vacant during the initial leadership forum in November due to the absence of a member for the riding of Akulliq.

But after a judicial recount of the Dec. 15 Akulliq byelection resulted in a tie, the caucus made a decision to proceed with the selection of a seventh cabinet minister, given that the new byelection would not take place until March 2.