47 Facts About Lucien Bouchard

Lucien Bouchard, is a French Canadian lawyer, diplomat and retired politician.

Lucien Bouchard 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.

Lucien Bouchard graduated from Jonquiere Classical College in 1959, and obtained a bachelor's degree in social science and a law degree at Universite Laval in 1964.

Lucien Bouchard was called to the Bar of Quebec later that year.

Lucien Bouchard 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, prosecutor in chief for the commission for labour and industry, and co-president of the study commission on the public and parapublic sectors.

Lucien Bouchard's relationship with politics is a complex one, as he affiliated himself over the years with various political parties with highly diverging ideologies, going as far as founding one, the Bloc Quebecois.

Lucien Bouchard has been a Quebec nationalist during his entire political career.

Lucien Bouchard worked with the "Yes" side during the 1980 Quebec referendum on sovereignty.

Mulroney would go on to ask Lucien Bouchard to serve in various official capacities, including as Canadian ambassador to France.

In 1988, Lucien Bouchard returned to Canada to serve as Mulroney's Quebec lieutenant, and was elected as a Progressive Conservative from a Saguenay-area riding.

Lucien Bouchard was immediately named to Cabinet as Secretary of State and later Minister of the Environment.

However, after a commission headed by Jean Charest recommended some changes to the Accord, Lucien Bouchard opposed them, saying they diluted the original spirit and objectives of Meech.

Lucien Bouchard was the one who led the Quebecois to realize they had the inalienable right to decide their own destiny.

Lucien Bouchard resigned from the Progressive Conservatives soon afterward, and sat as an independent for a few months.

Lucien Bouchard thus became the first separatist leader of the Opposition in the history of Canada.

For example, in 1995, when Lucien Bouchard garnered an invitation to meet visiting US President Bill Clinton by virtue of being Opposition Leader, Manning was granted a meeting with Clinton in order to diffuse Lucien Bouchard's separatist leverage.

Lucien Bouchard was still serving in that capacity in Ottawa, and working closely with the provincial Parti Quebecois to bring about the independence of Quebec, when he lost a leg to necrotizing fasciitis on December 1,1994.

In 1995, Lucien Bouchard signed, as Bloc leader, a tripartite agreement with Parti Quebecois leader Jacques Parizeau and Action democratique leader Mario Dumont, which mapped the way to the referendum on independence.

Lucien Bouchard was instrumental in convincing Parizeau to include a plan of association with Canada in the referendum question.

Lucien Bouchard campaigned with the other two leaders for the "Oui" side.

Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau first led the "Oui" campaign but, as support for sovereignty began to plateau, Lucien Bouchard was given the official leadership.

Lucien Bouchard was acclaimed his successor as leader of the Parti Quebecois in January 1996, and was appointed premier of Quebec shortly afterward.

In 2014, Lucien Bouchard revealed to Chantal Hebert that he had no plans calling for a referendum when becoming Premier.

Lucien Bouchard faced his former Cabinet colleague, Charest, who was now leader of the provincial Liberal Party.

Lucien Bouchard said that he couldn't in good conscience authorize funding for a new sports facility when the province was being forced to shutter hospitals.

Lucien Bouchard retired from electoral politics in 2001, and was replaced as Quebec premier by Bernard Landry.

Lucien Bouchard stated that his relative failure to revive the sovereigntist flame was a cause of his departure, something for which he took responsibility.

Lucien Bouchard serves as a negotiator, legal counsel and mediator in commercial matters and, occasionally, in labour-related disputes.

Lucien Bouchard sits on the board of several private companies as well as organizations like the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, TC Transcontinental, Saputo Inc.

Lucien Bouchard served as President of the Quebec Oil and Gas Association from 2011 until 2013.

Lucien Bouchard accused the PQ of being so fixated on independence that it had no solutions for the province's basic needs, and accused it of pandering to xenophobic elements by taking a hard line on immigration.

Lucien Bouchard revealed in a 2014 documentary that the Bloc Quebecois was only intended to last long enough to prepare the ground for the 1995 referendum.

Lucien Bouchard believed its long duration weakened Quebec's influence within Canada by limiting the potential pool for federal cabinet ministers in successive Liberal and Conservative governments.

Lucien Bouchard averred that the 1995 referendum may have passed had it been part of a two-step process.

Lucien Bouchard blamed Parizeau's rejection of that approach for the referendum's failure.

Lucien Bouchard married his first wife, Jocelyne Cote, on October 15,1966.

Lucien Bouchard later became a lawyer, eventually working for the Heenan-Blaikie firm of Montreal.

Lucien Bouchard died on January 25,2011, aged 50, from breast cancer.

On May 18,2013, Lucien Bouchard married his third wife, Solange Dugas.

Lucien Bouchard has two children, Alexandre and Simon, who hold dual Canadian-United States citizenship via Audrey Best, their mother.

In 1994, while serving as Leader of the Opposition, Lucien Bouchard lost his left leg to a type of flesh-eating bacteria.

On October 16,2006, Lucien Bouchard declared to TVA news reporter Paul Larocque, that the population of the province is not working enough and that it should be more productive in order to produce more resources for the population.

Lucien Bouchard's government implemented some controversial policies, including cuts to the province's health care spending in order to balance the provincial budget, and the amalgamation of Quebec's larger cities undertaken by his successor Bernard Landry.

Lucien Bouchard is remembered for his sometimes short fuse when provoked and his unforgiving demands for excellence in those he worked with, but for his charm and eloquence, and was appreciated as a formidable foe by his political adversaries.

Lucien Bouchard has stated that he will not return to politics.

Lucien Bouchard won the 1998 election and resigned in 2001.

Lucien Bouchard is the only PQ leader to be Premier of Quebec for his entire leadership and the only non-interim PQ leader to never lose an election.