Jean Charest
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The Honourable Jean Charest PC |
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| 29th Premier of Quebec | |
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In office April 29, 2003 – September 19, 2012 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Lieutenant Governor |
Lise Thibault Pierre Duchesne |
| Preceded by | Bernard Landry |
| Succeeded by | Pauline Marois |
| Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for Sherbrooke | |
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In office November 30, 1998 – September 17, 2012 |
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| Preceded by | Marie Malavoy |
| Succeeded by | Serge Cardin |
| Leader of the Opposition of Quebec | |
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In office April 30, 1998 – April 29, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Monique Gagnon-Tremblay |
| Succeeded by | Bernard Landry |
| Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada | |
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In office December 14, 1993 – April 2, 1998 |
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| Preceded by | Kim Campbell |
| Succeeded by | Elsie Wayne (Interim) |
| 5th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada | |
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In office June 25, 1993 – November 4, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Don Mazankowski |
| Succeeded by | Sheila Copps |
| Member of the Canadian Parliament for Sherbrooke |
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In office September 4, 1984 – November 30, 1998 |
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| Preceded by | Irénée Pelletier |
| Succeeded by | Serge Cardin |
| Minister of the Environment | |
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In office April 21, 1991 – June 24, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Robert de Cotret |
| Succeeded by | Pierre H. Vincent |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John James Charest June 24, 1958 Sherbrooke, Quebec |
| Political party | Quebec Liberal Party (1998–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (before 1998) |
| Spouse(s) | Michèle Dionne |
| Residence | Montreal, Quebec (personal) |
| Alma mater | Université de Sherbrooke |
Jean James Charest, PC (born John James Charest; pronounced: [ʒɑ̃ ʃɑʁɛ]; born June 24, 1958) was the 29th Premier of Quebec, from 2003 to 2012. He lost the provincial election held September 4, 2012, and resigned as Premier on September 19. He was the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada from June 25, 1993, until November 4, 1993. Charest was the leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1993 to 1998, and was the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1998 to 2012. On September 5, 2012, Jean Charest announced that he would be resigning as Quebec Liberal Leader and leaving politics. Charest sits as an advisor to Canada's Ecofiscal Commission.
Jean Charest was born on June 24, 1958, in Sherbrooke, in the Eastern Townships. His parents are Rita (born Leonard), an Irish Quebecer, and Claude "Red" Charest, a French Canadian. He obtained a law degree from the Université de Sherbrooke and was admitted to the Barreau du Québec in 1981. He is married to Michèle Dionne (since June 21, 1980) and they have three children, Amélie, Antoine, and Alexandra. Charest is fully bilingual in French and English.
Some have wrongfully claimed that Jean Charest downplays his legal first name John by presenting himself in French as Jean so as to appeal more to francophone Quebecers. For example, in the 1997 federal election, Bloc Québécois MP Suzanne Tremblay attacked Charest by saying, "First, let's recall who Jean Charest really is... his real name is John, that's what's on his birth certificate, not Jean." Charest responded that, his mother being an Irish-Quebecer, it was the Irish priest who baptized him that wrote John on the baptism certificate, but that he was always known as Jean in his family and with his peers as well. He also went to French schools.
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Wikipedia