Lucien Bouchard

Bouchard, Lucien (b. 22 Dec. 1938). Premier of Quebec 1996–2001 Born at Saint Cœur-de-Marie (Quebec), he studied law at Laval University, and was a successful private lawyer for twenty years. Following his appointment as ambassador to Paris (1988), he was elected to the House of Commons as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party and became a member of Mulroney's Cabinet. Convinced by the failure of the Meech Lake Accord that Quebec had no future within Canada, he founded the Bloc Québecois (BQ) in 1990, which he led in 1993 to become the second largest parliamentary party nationwide, thus becoming leader of the official opposition. The fiery orator used this platform whenever possible to advance the cause of independence, and his charismatic intervention in the 1995 Quebec referendum secured a large number of pro-sovereignty votes. To further the goal of separation, he resigned from the federal BQ to become Premier of Quebec in January 1996, and lead the Parti Québecois (PQ). He was unable to increase support for separatism and, owing to the Province's difficult economic situation, was increasingly forced to introduce unpopular cuts in public spending. As a result, the PQ started to perform badly in Provincial elections, and in 2001 he resigned following the BQ's bad showing in the national elections.

Lucien Bouchard , 1938-, French-Canadian separatist leader, b. Quebec. A lawyer and a political ally of Brian Mulroney , Bouchard served under him as Canada's ambassador to France (1985-88) and environment minister (1989-90). In 1990 he broke with Mulroney and the Progressive Conservative party over the failed Meech Lake Accord and formed the Bloc Québécois, a Quebec separatist party intended to complement the provincial Parti Québécois (PQ) on the federal level. In the 1993 elections the party became the second largest in the Canadian parliament, and the charismatic Bouchard became leader of the opposition. He lost a leg to a life-threatening bacterial infection in 1994 but returned to his seat in Commons and in 1995 nearly led separatism's supporters to victory in a Quebec referendum. Bouchard resigned from the parliament in 1996 to become Quebec's premier and leader of the PQ; he resigned as premier and party leader early in 2001.