Fernard Roberge (born July 19, 1940) is a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

ier and former Canadian Senator. In 1977, Roberge became the first

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

to be

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Montreal and held the post for over 12 years. He was also part-owner of the hotel until selling his interest in 1991 to the Rolaco Group of New York. He was appointed to the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

by Prime Minister

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...

in May 1993, a month before the Progressive Conservative leader retired from office. Mulroney and Roberge were long time friends. Mulroney had previously appointed Roberge to the board of Air Canada in 1985. Roberge had been one of the members of the "Ritz Gang" which helped Mulroney plot the downfall of then-Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark in 1983 precipitating the

1983 Progressive Conservative leadership convention The 1983 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held on June 11, 1983, in Ottawa, Ontario to elect a leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC Party). At the convention, Montreal businessman and lawyer Brian Mulroney w ...

won by Mulroney. In the lead up to the 1984 federal election, Roberge was a member of the Progressive Conservative party's candidate selection committee for Quebec. After the election, he was appointed chairman of the Mulroney government's

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

advisory committee for Quebec. Shortly before the

1993 Progressive Conservative leadership convention The 1993 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held on June 13, 1993 to choose a leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, with Kim Campbell winning the vote in the second ballot. She became the first female Prime Minis ...

, Roberge endorsed

Kim Campbell Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, lawyer, and writer who served as the 19th prime minister of Canada from June 25 to November 4, 1993. Campbell is the first and so far only female p ...

for leader of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

. In 1998, Roberge was named one of the 10 senators with the worst attendance record in the chamber. He resigned from the body in July 2000 at the age of 60 in order to spend more time on his business affairs saying in the statement that, "I want to concentrate all my energies on various business projects and this involvement becomes increasingly incompatible with Senate duties in Ottawa." In 2007, he was appointed chairman of the Ritz-Carlton advisory committee. Since the early 1990s Roberge has also President and Chief Executive Officer of Stratcorp Inc., a management consulting society where he assists with special projects involving international strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions and is a special advisor to the firm of Jones Lang LaSalle."Appointment Notices - Jones Lang LaSalle", ''Globe and Mail'', June 7, 2007

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberge, Fernard 1940 births Living people Canadian senators from Quebec Progressive Conservative Party of Canada senators Canadian hoteliers