Jean Charest

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Hon. Jean Charest

29th Premier of Quebec
Incumbent
Assumed office April 29, 2003
Preceded by	Bernard Landry

Born	June 24, 1958 Sherbrooke, Quebec
Political party	Quebec Liberal Party
Spouse	Michèle Dionne
Religion	Roman Catholic

John James Charest (sha-ræ), PC, LL.B, MNA known as Jean Charest (born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and politician from the province of Quebec. He is a former leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party (1993 - 1998), the current leader of the Parti libéral du Québec (since 1998) and the Premier of Quebec (since 2003).

1 Profile
2 Conservative Party Minister
3 PC Leader
4 Quebec Liberal Party Leader
5 Quebec Premier
6 Status of Quebec
7 First Name
8 Elections as party leader
9 See also
10 External links

[edit] Profile

Born in the Eastern Townships central city of Sherbrooke, Quebec to Claude Red Charest and Rita Leonard (an Irish Quebecer), he obtained a law degree from the University of Sherbrooke and was admitted to the Barreau du Quebec in 1981. He is married to Michèle Dionne.

[edit] Conservative Party Minister

He worked as a lawyer until he was elected Progressive Conservative member of the Canadian Parliament for the riding (electoral district) of Sherbrooke in the 1984 election. From 1984 to 1986, Charest served as Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole of the House of Commons. In 1986, at age 28, he was appointed to the Cabinet of then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney as Minister of State for Youth. He was the youngest cabinet minister in Canadian history. He was appointed Minister of State for Fitness and Amateur Sport in 1988, but had to resign from cabinet in 1990 after improperly speaking to a judge about a case regarding the Canadian Track and Field Association. He returned to cabinet as Minister of the Environment in 1991.

[edit] PC Leader

After Mulroney's retirement as PC leader and prime minister, Charest was a candidate for the leadership of the party at the 1993 Progressive Conservative leadership convention. He impressed many observers and party members, and placed a strong second to Defence Minister Kim Campbell, who had held a large lead going into the convention. Charest served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Science and Technology in Campbell's short-lived cabinet.

In the 1993 election, the PCs were swept from power. Only two of the party's 295 candidates were elected— Charest and Elsie Wayne. As the only surviving member of what would turn out to be the last PC Cabinet, Charest was appointed interim party leader and confirmed in the post in April 1995.

Even before being confirmed as leader, Charest launched an effort to re-build the party. In the 1997 election, the Tories received 19% of the vote, winning 20 seats out of 301, mostly in Atlantic Canada. The party was back from the brink, but Charest considered the result a disappointment.

[edit] Quebec Liberal Party Leader

In April 1998, Charest gave in to considerable public and political pressure to leave federal politics and become leader of the Quebec Liberal Party. Charest was considered by many to be the best hope for the federalist QLP to defeat the sovereignist Parti Québécois government. (The QLP is not affiliated with the federal Liberals.)

In the 1998 election, the Quebec Liberals received more votes than the PQ, but because the Liberal vote was concentrated in fewer ridings, the PQ won enough seats to form another majority government. The two parties won almost the same number of seats in the National Assembly of Quebec as they had won in the previous election in 1994, in which the Liberals had been led by Daniel Johnson, Jr.

In the April 2003 election, Charest led the Quebec Liberals to a majority, ending nine years of PQ rule. He declared he had a mandate to reform health care, cut taxes, reduce spending and reduce the size of government.

[edit] Quebec Premier

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Charest's first two years as premier were marked by stiff and vocal opposition to his policies by Quebec labour unions. The antagonism and negativity shared between his government against public sector employees and various labor and student unions, as well as his failure so far to cut taxes as promised, has left Charest sharply unpopular amongst the general public.

Most polls show that Charest and the Liberals would be defeated by the PQ, which recently elected André Boisclair as its new leader. Many have suggested, however, that Charest may have made a run for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada had current leader Stephen Harper faltered in the federal election of January 2006. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Status of Quebec

Charest was involved in the Constitutional Issue regarding Quebec which refused to sign the Constitution in 1982 after the Patriation of it. He was a special commitee member in charged of examining the Meech Lake Accord in 1990, which would have gave the province of Quebec the status of a "distinct society". The Accord failed and the Environment Minister and future Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard left the Party in the process. In the 1997 election, Charest campaigned in favour of Quebec being a distinct society. During his mandate as premier, he tried to contribute more to the place of Quebec in the international committee. The province was granted a spot at the UNESCO, the culture branch of the United Nations.

[edit] First Name

Some Québec sovereigntists have claimed that Charest downplays his legal first name John by presenting himself in French as Jean so as to appeal more to mainstream Quebecers. For example, in the 1997 federal election, Bloc Québécois MP Suzanne Tremblay attacked Charest by saying, "Il s'appelle John, pas Jean!" (His name is John, not Jean!). Mr. Charest answered, ironically : "When you'll have curled hair like me, you'll decide what my first name is."

[edit] Elections as party leader

Canada: He lost the 1997 election as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada.
Quebec: He lost the 1998 election and won the 2003 election as leader of the Quebec Liberal Party.

[edit] See also

1995 Quebec referendum
Executive Council of Quebec - list of Charest's current cabinet
Quebec federalist movement
Politics of Quebec
Quebec general elections
Timeline of Quebec history
Politics of Canada
List of Canadian federal elections
Politician and personality nicknaming in Quebec
List of Irish Quebecers

[edit] External links

	Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jean Charest

Preceded by Irénée Pelletier	Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke 1984-1998	Succeeded by Serge Cardin
Preceded by Kim Campbell	Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada 1993-1998	Succeeded by Elsie Wayne
Preceded by Daniel Johnson, Jr.	Leader of the Quebec Liberal Party 1998 – present	Incumbent
Preceded by Monique Gagnon-Tremblay	Leader of the Opposition (Québec) 1998-2003	Succeeded by Bernard Landry
Preceded by Bernard Landry	Premier of Quebec 2003 – present	Incumbent

Cabinet Posts (3)
25th Ministry - Government of Kim Campbell
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Don Mazankowski	Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (1993)	Sheila Copps
Michael Wilson	Minister of Industry, Science and Technology (1993) styled as Minister of Industry	John Manley
Pierre H. Vincent	Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (1993) styled as Minister of Industry	John Manley
Special Cabinet Responsibilities
Predecessor	Title	Successor
position created	Minister responsible for the Federal Office of Regional Development - Quebec (1993)	Paul Martin
24th Ministry - Government of Brian Mulroney
Cabinet Posts (3)
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Robert de Cotret	Minister of the Environment (1991-1993)	Pierre H. Vincent
	Minister of State (Fitness and Amateur Sport) (1988-1990)
	Minister of State (Youth) (1986-1988)