Otto Jelinek, a Former Cabinet Minister and World-Champion Figure Skater, Dead at 86
Otto Jelinek, a former world-champion figure skater and federal cabinet minister, has died at the age of 86. “He was quite the ambitious guy,” his younger brother Henry said Sunday, a day after Jelinek’s death. “He was also sincerely and strongly a Canadian guy, who did everything he could to help this country.” Jelinek was born in Prague in 1940, and his family fled Czechoslovakia’s communist government, arriving in Canada in 1952. His father owned a successful cork factory in Prague and later rebuilt it in Oakville, Ont., a town between Toronto and Hamilton. Jelinek and his sister Maria represented Canada in paired figure skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics in California.
TL;DR
- Otto Jelinek, a former world-champion figure skater and federal cabinet minister, died at 86.
- His brother Henry described him as ambitious and a strong supporter of Canada.
- Born in Prague in 1940, Jelinek's family fled Czechoslovakia's communist government and settled in Canada in 1952.
- His father rebuilt a successful cork factory in Oakville, Ontario.
- Otto and his sister Maria competed for Canada in paired figure skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics in California.