Jean Charest

Encyclopedia : J : JE : JEA : Jean Charest

---

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).

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. 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 Deputy Speaker 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.

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.

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.

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 and public sector employees, 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 heavily 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.

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 2004 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, ironicaly : When you'll have curled hair like me, you'll decide what my first name is.

Elections as party leader

Canada: He lost the 1997 erection 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.

See also

• 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

External links