View source for Jean Charest

{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix    = [[The Honourable]]
| name                = Jean Charest
| honorific-suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|size=100%}}
| image               = Agriculture Secretary Perdue Visit to Canada 20170605-OSEC-RV-0003 (34337316314) (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Charest in 2017
| office              = Premier of Quebec
| order               = 29th
| term_start          = April 29, 2003
| term_end            = September 19, 2012
| monarch             = [[Elizabeth II]]
| lieutenant_governor = {{unbulleted list|[[Lise Thibault]]|[[Pierre Duchesne]]}}
| deputy              = {{Collapsible list|title=''See list''
 | bullets = 
 | 1 =     [[Monique Gagnon-Tremblay]]
 | 2 =     [[Jacques Dupuis (politician)|Jacques Dupuis]]
 | 3 =     [[Nathalie Normandeau]]
 | 4 =     [[Line Beauchamp]]
 | 5 =     [[Michelle Courchesne]]
}}
| predecessor         = [[Bernard Landry]]
| successor           = [[Pauline Marois]]
| office1             = Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
| order1              = 5th
| term_start1         = June 25, 1993
| term_end1           = November 4, 1993
| primeminister1      = [[Kim Campbell]]
| predecessor1        = [[Don Mazankowski]]
| successor1          = [[Sheila Copps]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Leadership positions
 |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office2              = [[Leader of the Official Opposition (Quebec)|Leader of the Opposition in Quebec]]
| term_start2          = April 30, 1998
| term_end2            = April 29, 2003
| predecessor2         = Monique Gagnon-Tremblay
| successor2           = [[Bernard Landry]]
| office3              = Leader of the [[Quebec Liberal Party]]
| term_start3          = April 30, 1998
| term_end3            = September 5, 2012
| predecessor3         = [[Monique Gagnon-Tremblay]] (interim)
| successor3           = [[Jean-Marc Fournier]] (interim)
| office4              = Leader of the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]]
| term_start4          = December 14, 1993
| term_end4            = April 2, 1998<br />[[Interim leader (Canada)|Interim]]: December 14, 1993 – April 29, 1995
| predecessor4         = [[Kim Campbell]]
| successor4           = [[Elsie Wayne]] (interim){{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Canadian cabinet
 |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office5              = [[Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry#Preceding offices|Minister of Industry]]
| primeminister5       = Kim Campbell
| term_start5          = June 25, 1993
| term_end5            = November 4, 1993
| predecessor5         = [[Pierre H. Vincent]] ([[Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs]]; [[Registrar General of Canada]])<br />[[Michael Wilson (Canadian politician)|Michael Wilson]] ([[Minister of Industry, Science and Technology]])
| successor5           = [[John Manley]]
| office7              = [[Minister of the Environment (Canada)|Minister of the Environment]]
| primeminister7       = [[Brian Mulroney]]
| term_start7          = April 21, 1991
| term_end7            = June 24, 1993
| predecessor7         = [[Robert de Cotret]]
| successor7           = [[Pierre H. Vincent]]
| office8              = [[Minister for Sport (Canada)|Minister of State (Fitness and Amateur Sport)]]
| primeminister8       = [[Brian Mulroney]]
| minister8            = [[Jake Epp]]<br />[[Perrin Beatty]]
| term_start8          = March 31, 1988
| term_end8            = January 23, 1990
| predecessor8         = [[Otto Jelinek]]
| successor8           = [[Marcel Danis]]
| office9              = [[Minister of State (Canada)|Minister of State (Youth)]]
| primeminister9       = Brian Mulroney
| minister9            = [[David Crombie]]<br />[[Lucien Bouchard]]<br />[[Gerry Weiner]]
| term_start9          = June 30, 1986
| term_end9            = January 23, 1990
| predecessor9         = [[Andrée Champagne]]
| successor9           = Marcel Danis{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |House of Commons roles
 |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office10             = [[Committee of the whole#Canada|Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons<br />Assistant Deputy Chair of the Committees of the Whole]]
| 1blankname10         = Speaker
| 1namedata10          = [[John Bosley (politician)|John Bosley]]
| term_start10         = October 31, 1984
| term_end10           = June 29, 1986
| predecessor10        = [[Jacques Guilbault]]
| successor10          = [[Andrée Champagne]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
{{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Parliamentary constituencies
 |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office11             = [[Member of the National Assembly (Quebec)|Member]] of the<br />[[National Assembly of Quebec]] <br /> for [[Sherbrooke (provincial electoral district)|Sherbrooke]]
| term_start11         = November 30, 1998
| term_end11           = September 4, 2012
| predecessor11        = [[Marie Malavoy]]
| successor11          = [[Serge Cardin]]
| parliament12         = Canadian
| riding12             = [[Sherbrooke (federal electoral district)|Sherbrooke]]
| term_start12         = September 4, 1984
| term_end12           = April 30, 1998
| predecessor12        = [[Irénée Pelletier]]
| successor12          = [[Serge Cardin]]{{Collapsed infobox section end}}}}
| birth_name          = John James Charest
| birth_date          = {{Birth date and age|1958|6|24}}
| birth_place         = [[Sherbrooke]], [[Quebec]], Canada
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative]] (federal)<br />[[Quebec Liberal Party|Quebec Liberal]] (provincial)
| otherparty          = [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservative]] (before 2003)
| residence           = [[Westmount, Quebec|Westmount]], [[Quebec]], Canada
| spouse              = {{marriage|Michèle Dionne|1980}}
| alma_mater          = [[Université de Sherbrooke]]
| website             = {{URL|https://www.jeancharest.ca/}}
}}
'''John James''' "'''Jean'''" '''Charest''' (born 24 June 1958) is a [[French Canadian]] politician. He was Premier of [[Quebec]] from 2003 until 2012 under the [[Quebec Liberal Party]].<ref name="bio">{{cite web|title=Jean Charest|url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/dossiers/tetes/charest/deux.html|publisher=Radio-Canada.ca|accessdate=28 June 2013|language=fr|archive-date=8 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008100424/http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/dossiers/tetes/charest/deux.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Early life ==
Charest was born and grew up in [[Sherbrooke]], Quebec. Before politics, he worked as a [[lawyer]]. He received his diploma from the University of Sherbrooke in 1981, and was admitted to the Bar of Quebec the same year.<ref name="quiestqui">{{cite web|title=Biographie de Jean Charest|url=http://www.quiestqui.ca/index.php?page=bio_texte&id=0000064&titre_p=Biographie%20de%20Jean%20%20Charest|publisher=Quiestqui.ca|accessdate=28 June 2013|language=fr}}{{Dead link|date=January 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>  After 3 years of working in court, Charest decided to join the [[Conservative Party of Canada]] in 1984. He was only 26 years old when he was elected as the representative of Sherbrooke.<ref name=bio/>
== Conservative Party of Canada ==
Jean Charest had joined the Conservative Party of Canada in 1984. In the same year, he was appointed as Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]].<ref name=bio/> On June 1986, he joined the Cabinet of Prime Minister [[Brian Mulroney]]. He was the youngest person to serve in the Cabinet.<ref>Graeme Hamilton, "Charest's bumpy ride to the top", ''Times-Colonist'', Victoria, B.C.: April 20, 2003, pg. D.1.Fro.</ref> He was given the job of Minister of State for Youth.<ref name=bio/> Charest was re-elected in 1988, and served as Minister of State for Fitness and Amateur Sport.<ref name=quiestqui/>

In 1984, the [[Prime Minister of Canada]], Brian Mulroney, promised that Quebec would sign the Canadian Constitution, which every other province had already signed two years before. Jean Charest was very involved in this project, but it did not succeed.<ref name=bio/>
== Referendum of 1995 ==
In 1995, Quebec was governed by the [[Parti Québécois]], who started a [[referendum]] about whether Quebec should stay as a part of Canada. In others words, the population had the choice of staying or leaving the country.<ref name="ref1995">{{cite web|title=Le référendum de 1995|url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Politique/2010/10/27/006-referendum-15ans-index.shtml|publisher=Radio-Canada.ca|accessdate=28 June 2013|language=fr}}</ref>  Jean Charest was against the idea of Quebec leaving the union. The results were very close, but Quebec stayed as part of the country.<ref name=ref1995/>
== Liberal Party of Quebec ==
[[File:Labeaume, Harper et Charest FMLF2012.JPG|thumb|Régis Labeaume, Stephen Harper and Jean Charest at the Forum mondial de la langue française, July 2 2012.]]

During the 1990s, the sovereignty movement was at its height. Jean Charest, who was a big part of the ''No'' campaign in 1995, had won the support of many federalists from Quebec. This is why he joined the Liberal Party of Quebec in 1998, as the leader of the party. In 1998, Charest participated at his first election as a leader of a party. He received more votes than his opponent, but did not reach the majority. He stayed as official [[Leader of the Opposition]] until 29 April 2003.

Charest won the next election and became Premier of Quebec on the 29 April 2003 by receiving 45.99% of the votes from the electors. Mario Dumont from the ''Action Démocratique du Québec'' and Bernard Landry from the ''Parti Quebecois'' were his opponents. The Liberal Party won 76 out of 125 seats.
== Premiership ==
During his government, there were crises with the housing industry and university funding. Charest was not able to lower taxes as he had promised during his campaign. In the 2008 election, the Liberal Party under Jean Charest got re-elected as the government, with 66 out of 125 seats and 42% of the votes from Quebec's electors. Charest himself was less popular in this election than the other one before. He gained 33.08% of the votes from the electors.

The popularity of Jean Charest dropped down very quickly. On 4 September 2012, Charest had been defeated and he decided to quit.<ref>{{cite web|title=Élections du 4 septembre - Les mains liées|url=https://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/358473/elections-du-4-septembre-les-mains-liees|publisher=Ledevoir.com|accessdate=28 June 2013|language=fr}}</ref>

After his resignation, Jean Charest decided to give more time to his family and begin working again as lawyer.<ref name="practice">{{cite web|title=Jean Charest de retour à la pratique du droit|url=http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Politique/2012/10/28/001-charest-retour-pratique-droit.shtml|publisher=Radio-Canada.ca|accessdate=28 June 2013|language=fr}}</ref>  At least five law firms have shown interest in his services, especially one in Toronto.<ref name=practice />
== 2022 Conservative leadership race ==
In March 2022, Charest announced his candidacy in the [[2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership election|race for the leadership]] of the [[Conservative Party of Canada]].<ref name="Jean Charest campaign website">{{cite web|title=Jean Charest:Built to Win|url=https://www.jeancharest.ca/|access-date=10 March 2022|website=jeancharest.ca|publisher=Jean Charest|archive-date=10 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310120641/https://www.jeancharest.ca/|url-status=dead}}</ref> He lost the election in September 2022 to [[Pierre Poilievre]].
== Family ==
[[File:Jean Charest a Saint-Tite.jpg|thumb|Jean Charest with his wife Michèle Dionne]]
At the age of 18 years old, Jean Charest met Michèle Dionne who became his wife.<ref name=practice />  They met while they were studying in Sherbrooke. Michèle Dionne had been considerate as a big part of his career, she has supported and has influenced many of his choices while he was in politics.<ref name=practice />  Amélie, Antoine and Alexandra are their 3 children.

== Jean Charest Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Quebec Premier Jean Charest visits US Consulate.jpg|Charest with [[United States]] [[Consul (representative)|Consul General]] Peter O'Donohue in November 2010

File:Jean_Charest_27_août_2012.jpg|The Prime minister of Quebec, Jean Charest, before an interview.
</gallery>
== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charest, Jean}}
[[Category:1958 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Deputy Prime Ministers of Canada]]
[[Category:Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec]]
[[Category:Ministers of the environment of Canada]]
[[Category:Premiers of Quebec]]
[[Category:Privy Councillors (Canada)]]
[[Category:Leaders of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada]]

{{Biography-stub}}