Raynald Fréchette (13 October 1933 – 20 March 2007) was 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 ...

lawyer, judge and political figure.

Early life

He was born on 13 October 1933 in Asbestos, Quebec, the son of a miner, and studied at the Collège Saint-Aimé there and the

Université de Sherbrooke The University of Sherbrooke (French: Université de Sherbrooke) (UdS) is a large public French-language university in Quebec, Canada with campuses located in Sherbrooke and Longueuil, a suburb of Montreal approximately west of Sherbrooke. It i ...

. He was admitted to the

Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec (french: Barreau du Québec) is the regulatory body for the practice of advocates in the Canadian province of Quebec and one of two legal regulatory bodies in the province. It was founded on May 30, 1849, as the Bar of Lower Ca ...

in 1961 and set up practice in

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional cou ...

Career

House Speaker

He won a seat to the provincial legislature in 1966 and became the Union Nationale Member for the district of

. He served as

President of the National Assembly of Quebec The President of the National Assembly of Quebec (French; ''Le Président de l'Assemblée nationale'') is the presiding officer of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada, which is modeled after the Westminster parliamentary system. In other Angloph ...

(House Speaker) from February to June 1970, but lost re-election in 1970 Quebec general election, finishing fourth with 21% of the vote.

Cabinet Member

He returned to the National Assembly as a member of 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 ...

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. Fréchette was Finance Minister in the cabinet of

René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...

from April 1981 to September 1982, then Minister of Labour until October 1985. He was

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and Minister of Labour in the cabinet of

Pierre-Marc Johnson Pierre-Marc Johnson (born July 5, 1946) is a Canadian lawyer, physician and politician. He was the 24th premier of Quebec from October 3 to December 12, 1985, making him the province's shortest-serving premier, and the first Baby Boomer to hold ...

from October to December 1985.QuébecPolitique.com , Élections dans Sherbrooke
/ref> He was defeated by a narrow margin in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

Retirement

After his defeat in 1985, he returned to the practice of law and also hosted an open line show on a Sherbrooke radio station. In 1988, he was named a judge in the Quebec Superior Court at Montreal and was assigned to Saint-François district in 1991. He died of cancer, aged 73, on 20 March 2007 in

Footnotes

External links

*
''Raynald Fréchette n'est plus'', Radio-Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frechette, Raynald 1933 births 2007 deaths Deaths from cancer in Quebec Justice ministers of Quebec Lawyers in Quebec Parti Québécois MNAs People from Val-des-Sources Politicians from Sherbrooke Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec Union Nationale (Quebec) MNAs Université de Sherbrooke alumni Vice Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec