André Bourbeau, (June 1, 1936 – March 25, 2018) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician. A member of the Quebec Liberal Party, Bourbeau served as member of the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

for Laporte serving from 1981 until 2003.

Early life

Bourbeau was born in

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, the son of Louis-Auguste Bourbeau and Antoinette Miquelon. He studied at the Séminaire de Sherbrooke and the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

before receiving a Diploma in Law from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

in 1959.

Political career

Bourbeau became a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

in 1960 and practiced in Montreal from 1960 to 1981. From 1970 to 1978, he served as a city councillor in

Saint-Lambert, Quebec Saint-Lambert () is a city (french: ville) in southwestern Quebec, Canada, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Montreal. It is part of the Urban agglomeration of Longueuil of the Montérégie administrative region. ...

. He was mayor from 1978 to 1981. In 1981, he was elected to the

for Laporte. A

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, he was re-elected in 1985, 1989, 1994, and 1998. He did not run in 2003. He held many different cabinet positions including Minister of Municipal Affairs, Responsible for Housing; Minister of Manpower, Income Security and Vocational Training; and

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

. He was the Chairman of the Board at Hydro-Québec from 2003 to 2005. From 1998 to 2003, he was Chairman of the Wilfrid Pelletier Foundation. As well, he was Chairman of the Jeunesses Musicales of Canada Foundation. Bourbeau was the founding president of the Montreal International Music Competition.

Death

Bourbeau was diagnosed with cancer in 1998. He died of complications from cancer on March 25, 2018, at the age of 81.

Honors

In 2009, he was made a Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governo ...

. In December 2016, Bourbeau was named a Member of the Order of Canada.

Electoral record (partial)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bourbeau, Andre 1936 births 2018 deaths French Quebecers Finance ministers of Quebec Knights of the National Order of Quebec Université de Montréal alumni McGill University Faculty of Law alumni Quebec Liberal Party MNAs People from Verdun, Quebec Politicians from Montreal 21st-century Canadian politicians Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Executive Council of Quebec Deaths from cancer in Quebec