J. H. Théogène Ricard, (April 30, 1909 – April 7, 2006) was a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

politician. An insurance agent by training, Ricard was first elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

in the 1957 election as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot. In 1962, he was appointed Chief Government Whip and parliamentary secretary to the

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...

. Prior to the 1963 general election, he was promoted to the Cabinet of

John Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker (September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 an ...

minister without portfolio A minister without portfolio is a government minister without specific responsibility as head of a government department. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet with decision-making authorit ...

. Although he kept his

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

in the election, the Diefenbaker government was defeated, and Ricard's Cabinet career came to an end after barely a month. Ricard remained in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as an opposition MP through the

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

and 1968 general elections, and retired from politics in 1972.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ricard, Theogene 1909 births 2006 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada