Damien Hétu (October 24, 1926 – February 15, 2010) 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. Hétu served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts,

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 ...

on two separate occasions and was 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 ...

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 ...

from 1985 to 1989.

Early life and career

Hétu was born in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts and received his early education in the town. He trained as an electrician and radio/television technician, and in 1952 he began working as an electrician and entrepreneur in his home community. He successfully campaigned for a local sports center, which was opened in the 1970s., ''L'information du nord'', 16 February 2010, accessed 27 April 2011. Hétu was a municipal councillor in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts from 1959 to 1965 and was the community's mayor from 1970 to 1974. In the same period, he was an organizer for both the Liberal Party of Canada and the Quebec Liberal Party. He ran for the Quebec legislature in the 1981 provincial election and lost to incumbent

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

cabinet minister

Jacques Léonard Jacques Léonard (born December 2, 1936) is a Canadian accountant, educator, and politician in the province of Quebec. He served in the National Assembly of Quebec from 1976 to 1985 and again from 1989 to 2001 and was a cabinet minister in the go ...

in Labelle.

Legislator

Hétu was elected to the national assembly on his second attempt in the 1985 provincial election. The Liberal Party won a majority government in this election under Robert Bourassa's leadership, and Hétu served for the next four years as a government

backbench In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...

er. A 1988 newspaper report indicates that he had one of the best attendance records in the legislature, missing fewer than one per cent of recorded votes. He was defeated by Léonard a second time when seeking re-election in

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

Return to municipal politics

Hétu was re-elected as mayor of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts in 1990 and served until 1994. He presided over a water boil advisory for the community in 1992, due to concerns about contamination from lead pipes.Ann McLaughlin, "High levels of lead found in Ste. Agathe water," ''Montreal Gazette'', 14 July 1992, A5.

Death

Hétu died in February 2010, after an extended illness.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hetu, Damien 1926 births 2010 deaths People from Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts Quebec Liberal Party MNAs