Henri-François Gautrin (born July 30, 1943 in

Béthune Béthune ( ; archaic and ''Bethwyn'' historically in English) is a city in northern France, sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department. Geography Béthune is located in the former province of Artois. It is situated south-east of Calais, ...

, France) is a

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 ...

politician, professor and physicist. He was the Member of

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 the riding of

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 ...

in the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

region. He represented the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; e ...

and was the former Minister of Governmental Services from February 2006 to February 2007. Gautrin went to Collège Stanislas before going to the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte- ...

where he obtained a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in sciences. He later obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in sciences at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

before heading to the Université de Dijon in France in 1971 where he received a State

doctor's degree A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' l ...

. He also studied economics and public finance in Paris. He was a professor in the mathematics department at the Université de Montréal since 1969. In addition to his teaching duties at that university, he was also an administration staff member and a member of the executive committee. He was also active in politics as the leader of the

New Democratic Party of Quebec The New Democratic Party of Quebec (french: Nouveau Parti démocratique du Québec; NPDQ) is a federalist and social-democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The party is a revival of the comparable Nouveau Parti Démocratique ...

from 1973 to 1979 and was the president of the NO committee in the

Taillon Taillon is a provincial electoral district in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It comprises part of the borough of Le Vieux-Longueuil of the city of Longueuil. It was created for ...

riding in the 1980 referendum. He was then a candidate for the Liberals in the 1981 elections in the riding of Dorion, where he was defeated. Gautrin was elected in

in the 1989 elections where he was named the Caucus chair of the MNAs in Western Montreal and was briefly the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Education before the Liberals were defeated by the

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 ...

. He was re-elected for two other terms as an MNA for the opposition party in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

and 1998. When the Liberals returned to power in 2003, Gautrin was named the Parliamentary secretary to Premier

Jean Charest John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012 and the fifth deputy prime minister of Canada in 1993. Charest was elected to the House o ...

from 2003 to 2005. In 2005, he was named the Online Government Minister and in 2006 the Minister of Governmental Services. After being re-elected in 2007, he was named the Assistant

House Leader {{Politics of Canada In Canada, each political party with representation in the House of Commons has a House Leader who is a front bench Member of Parliament (MP) and an expert in parliamentary procedure. The same representation is found in the pr ...

of the Government and parliamentary assistant to the Premier. He was re-elected in the 2008 Quebec general election.

Electoral record (partial)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gautrin, Henri-Francois 1943 births Living people French emigrants to Quebec McGill University alumni Members of the Executive Council of Quebec New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons New Democratic Party of Quebec candidates in Quebec provincial elections People from Béthune Quebec candidates for Member of Parliament Quebec CCF/NDP leaders Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Université de Montréal alumni People from Verdun, Quebec 21st-century Canadian politicians