Richard Le Hir (July 9, 1947 – November 4, 2018) was a French-born Canadian politician, lawyer and management consultant living in

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 ...

. He represented Iberville in 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 ...

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 ...

and served in the Quebec cabinet. The son of Gaston Le Hir and Henriette Rochette, both teachers, he was born in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. Le Hir attended the Collège Stanislas in

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 ...

. He studied literature at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, Spanish studies at the

University of Barcelona The University of Barcelona ( ca, Universitat de Barcelona, UB; ; es, link=no, Universidad de Barcelona) is a public university located in the city of Barcelona, Catalonia, in Spain. With 63,000 students, it is one of the biggest universities i ...

and law at 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-de ...

. In 1974, he was admitted to the Bar of Quebec. Le Hir served in management positions in various companies, including

Esso Esso () is a trading name for ExxonMobil. Originally, the name was primarily used by its predecessor Standard Oil of New Jersey after the breakup of the original Standard Oil company in 1911. The company adopted the name "Esso" (the phonetic p ...

, Laurentian Group and Texaco Canada. From 1989 to 1994, he was president/director general of the Association des manufacturiers du Québec. He was elected to the National Assembly in the 1994 general election. From September 26, 1994, to November 9, 1995, he served as minister responsible for restructuring in the cabinet of

Jacques Parizeau Jacques Parizeau (; August 9, 1930June 1, 2015) was a Canadian politician and Québécois economist who was a noted Quebec sovereigntist and the 26th premier of Quebec from September 26, 1994, to January 29, 1996. Early life and career Pariz ...

. Le Hir resigned from the Parti Québécois

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

on December 8, 1995, following the defeat of the 1995 Quebec referendum and sat as an independent from April 30, 1996, till the end of his term. He did not run for reelection in 1998. After leaving politics, he worked as a management consultant and was president of the Shipping Federation of Canada. He contributed to the Quebec political web site . He also published a number of books on political subjects: ''La prochaine étape, le défi de la légitimité'' (1997), ''Desmarais: la dépossession tranquille'' (2012) and ''Charles Sirois, l'homme derrière François Legault'' (2013). Le Hir died in Montreal at the age of 71 several days after suffering a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

at his home there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Hir, Richard 1947 births 2018 deaths French emigrants to Quebec Parti Québécois MNAs Université de Montréal alumni University of Barcelona alumni Lawyers in Quebec