Lucien Bouchard

Lucien Bouchard (; born December 22, 1938) is a French-Canadian lawyer, diplomat and retired politician. A minister for two years in the Mulroney cabinet, Bouchard then founded and led the Bloc Québécois and became Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 1996. He became a central figure for the "Yes" side in the 1995 Quebec referendum, alongside Jacques Parizeau, whom he succeeded to serve as the 27th premier of Quebec from January 29, 1996, to March 8, 2001. Early life Bouchard was born in Saint-Cœur-de-Marie, Québec, the son of Alice (née Simard) and Philippe Bouchard. His brother is the historian Gérard Bouchard. Lucien Bouchard graduated from Jonquière Classical College in 1959, and obtained a bachelor's degree in social science and a law degree at Université Laval in 1964. He was called to the Bar of Quebec later that year. He practised law in Chicoutimi until 1985, while being given many charges as a public servant over the years: president of the arbitration committee for the education sector (1970 to 1976), prosecutor in chief for the commission for labour and industry (Cliche commission, 1974–75), and co-president of the study commission on the public and parapublic sectors (Martin-Bouchard commission — 1975). From then, he acted as a coordinator or member of many special teams on behalf of Quebec's government in the trade union negotiations for the public sector. In a 2000 interview with the journalist Michel Auger about his work with the Cliche commission, Bouchard named union boss André Desjardins one of the most toughest witnesses that he ever cross-examined.