President of the National Assembly of Quebec

The President of the National Assembly of Quebec (French; Le Président de l'Assemblée nationale) is the presiding officer of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada, which is modeled after the Westminster parliamentary system. In other parliaments and legislatures the equivalent position is often called the "Speaker", which is why from 1867 to 1968, the presiding officer of the Assembly was known in French as "orateur," a translation of the English term "speaker".

Description

The President of the National Assembly is fifth in the Quebec order of precedence, after the Queen of Canada, the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, the Premier, and the Deputy Premier. He or she is elected by his colleagues at the beginning of a legislature, for the length of the legislature. The President is assisted by the Vice Presidents of the Assembly, who can also replace him or her in his or her absence. Parti Québécois Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Louise Harel made history by being appointed as the first female President on March 12, 2002. The current President of the Assembly is the Libéral MNA Yvon Vallières.

Roles

The function of the President holds three major roles.

• The presiding of the hearings of the Assembly.
• The administration of the services of the Assembly.
• The representation of the Assembly, notably in its relations with other parliaments.

List of Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec

1. Joseph-Godric Blanchet - December 27, 1867 - Conservateur
2. Pierre Fortin - November 4, 1875 - Conservateur
3. Louis Beaubien - November 10, 1876 - Conservateur
4. Arthur Turcotte - June 4, 1878 - Conservateur indépendant
5. Louis-Olivier Taillon - March 8, 1882 - Conservateur
6. Jonathan Saxton Campbell Würtele - March 27, 1884 - Conservateur
7. Félix-Gabriel Marchand - January 27, 1887 - Libéral
8. Pierre-Évariste Leblanc - April 26, 1892 - Conservateur
9. Jules Tessier, November 23, 1897 - Libéral
10. Henri-Benjamin Rainville - February 14, 1901 - Libéral
11. Auguste Tessier - March 2, 1905 - Libéral
12. William Alexander Weir - April 25, 1905 - Libéral
13. Philippe-Honoré Roy - January 15, 1907 - Libéral
14. Jean-Marie-Joseph-Pantaléon Pelletier - March 2, 1909 - Libéral
15. Cyrille-Fraser Delâge - January 9, 1912 - Libéral
16. Antonin Galipeault - November 7, 1916 - Libéral
17. Joseph-Napoléon Francoeur - December 10, 1919 - Libéral
18. Hector Laferté - January 10, 1928 - Libéral
19. Télesphore-Damien Bouchard - January 7, 1930 - Libéral
20. Lucien Dugas - March 24, 1936 - Libéral
21. Joseph-Mignault-Paul Sauvé - October 7, 1936 - Union Nationale
22. Bernard Bissonnette - February 20, 1940 - Libéral
23. Valmore Bienvenue - May 12, 1942 - Libéral
24. Cyrille Dumaine - February 23, 1943 - Libéral
25. Alexandre Taché - February 7, 1945 - Union nationale
26. Maurice Tellier - December 15, 1955 - Union nationale
27. Lucien Cliche - September 20, 1960 - Libéral
28. John Richard Hyde - January 9, 1962 - Libéral
29. Guy Lechasseur - October 22, 1965 - Libéral
30. Rémi Paul - December 1, 1966 - Union nationale
31. Gérard Lebel - October 22, 1968 - Union nationale
32. Raynald Fréchette - February 24, 1970 - Union nationale
33. Jean-Noël Lavoie - June 9, 1970 - Libéral
34. Clément Richard - December 14, 1976 - Parti québécois
35. Claude Vaillancourt - November 11, 1980 - Parti québécois
36. Richard Guay - March 23, 1983 - Parti québécois
37. Pierre Lorrain - December 16, 1985 - Libéral
38. Jean-Pierre Saintonge - November 28, 1989 - Libéral
39. Roger Bertrand - November 29, 1994 - Parti québécois
40. Jean-Pierre Charbonneau - March 12, 1996 - Parti québécois
41. Louise Harel - March 12, 2002 - Parti québécois
42. Michel Bissonnet - June 4, 2003 - Libéral
43. François Gendron - October 21, 2008 - Parti Québécois
44. Yvon Vallières - January 13, 2009 - Libéral

All but on speaker was born in the province (Valmore Bienvenue was born in United States to Quebecois parents. Henri-Benjamin Rainville died in the US and Cyrille Dumaine died in Ottawa.

External links

• Page about the current President
• National Assembly of Quebec