Pauline Marois
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Pauline Marois (born March 29, 1949) is a politician in Quebec, Canada.
[edit] Biography
Pauline Marois was one of the more powerful women in Quebec's political history. In a political career spanning some 30 years, she held a total of 15 ministerial titles, though the leadership of her party - and the title of Premier always eluded her.
Marois holds a bachelor's degree in social work from Université Laval, as well as a master's degree in business administration (MBA) from HEC Montréal. During the 1970s she gained experience with several community organizations, before working as press attache for then-finance minister Jacques Parizeau. She also served as chief of staff for Lise Payette, minister responsible for the condition of women, and taught for some time at Université du Québec en Outaouais.
Marois was first elected to the Quebec National Assembly in the 1981 election as the Parti Québécois Member of the National Assembly (MNA) for La Peltrie. She immediately joined the government of René Lévesque as Minister for the Status of Women. In 1983, she was promoted to Minister of Labour and Income Security and Minister responsible for the Outaouais region.
When Lévesque resigned as party leader and Premier of Quebec, Marois joined the race to succeed him, placing second in the 1985 PQ leadership election behind Pierre-Marc Johnson. The PQ lost the 1985 election, Marois also lost her seat. From 1988 to 1989, she served as vice-president of the party and chair of the PQ's national executive.
In the 1989 election, Marois was returned as the member for Taillon. She continued serving on the opposition bench, variously, as critic for industry and trade, public administration and the environment.
When the PQ returned to power following the 1994 election, Marois was appointed to the cabinet of Jacques Parizeau as Minister for Administration and the Public Service and, for the last few months of Parizeau's tenure, as Minister of Finance and Minister of Revenue. Once Lucien Bouchard succeeded Parizeau as Premier, he made Marois his Minister of Education. She became Minister of Health and Social Services following the 1998 election.
The ascension of Bernard Landry as PQ leader and premier resulted in Marois returning again to the position of Minister of Finance. With the defeat of the PQ government in the 2003 election, Marois became the PQ opposition's education critic.
She quickly started to organize her leadership bid following the PQ electoral defeat. Her close supporters founded Groupe Reflexion Quebec, which served as a think tank. Her key organizors were Danielle Rioux, Nicole Léger, Nicolas Girard, Nicole Stafford, Joseph Facal and Pierre Langlois.
Marois announced her candidacy in the election for the leadership of the PQ following the sudden resignation of Landry in June 2005. She won 30.6% of the vote placing second to André Boisclair.
Marois announced on 20 March 2006 that she was leaving active political life.
She was the first western woman to give birth while serving as a minister. In all, she held a total of 15 ministerial titles. She is married to Claude Blanchet, former head of Quebec's Société générale de financement, and is the mother of four children (Catherine, Félix, François-Christophe and Jean-Sébastien).
[edit] Reference
[edit] See also
- Parti Québécois leadership election, 1985
- Parti Québécois leadership election, 2005
- Politics of Quebec
- Quebec sovereignty movement
- Parti Québécois
| Preceded by Jean Campeau |
Minister of Finance (Québec) 1995-1996 |
Succeeded by Bernard Landry |
| Preceded by Jean Garon |
Minister of Education (Québec) 1996-1998 |
Succeeded by François Legault |
| Preceded by Jean Rochon |
Minister of Health and Social Services (Québec) 1998-2001 |
Succeeded by Rémy Trudel |
| Preceded by Bernard Landry |
Minister of Finance (Québec) 2001-2003 |
Succeeded by Yves Séguin |
| Preceded by Bernard Landry |
Deputy Premier of Quebec 2001-2003 |
Succeeded by Monique Gagnon-Tremblay |
