François Gendron (born November 3, 1944, in Val-Paradis, Quebec) is a politician and teacher in Quebec, Canada. He was a Member of

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

for the riding of Abitibi-Ouest. He represented 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 establishi ...

from 1976 to 2018. Gendron went to the

Université Laval (; English: ''Laval University)'' is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university traces its roots to the Séminaire de Québec, founded by François de Montmorency-Laval in 1663, making it the oldest institutio ...

and obtained diplomas in

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

and

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

. He was then a teacher at Cité Étudiante Polyno in La Sarre, a coordinator at the Commission scolaire Lalonde, and a school counsellor. He was a municipal councillor from 1973 to 1976 in La Sarre and was the founder of the Education Workers Union of Northwestern Quebec in 1967. Gendron was the longest serving active MNA at the time of his retirement, having been first elected in

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

when the Parti Québécois led by

René Lévesque René Lévesque ( ; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Canadian 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 seek, ...

won its first provincial election. He was named the Assistant

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

and then the Minister of Public Services. After the party’s

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

re-election, he was named the Minister of Planning and Development and Minister of Education (1984–1985). When the Parti Québécois returned to the opposition benches after the 1985 election, he was the Deputy Opposition House Leader from 1985 to 1987 and 1989 to 1994 and the Opposition House Leader from 1987 to 1989. He was also named opposition critic after the 1989 election for education, municipal and regional affairs. After the Parti Québécois returned to power in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

with

Jacques Parizeau Jacques Parizeau (; August 9, 1930June 1, 2015) was a Canadian politician and economist who served as the 26th premier of Quebec from September 26, 1994, to January 29, 1996. Early life and career Parizeau was born in Montreal, Quebec, the s ...

as their leader, he was named Minister of

Natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

and the Deputy Government House Leader. In 1996, he was named the Government Chair Caucus. He remained in that position after the 1998 election until 2002 where he was briefly the Minister of Forest Management and rurality and then the Minister of Natural Resources. Gendron was re-elected in the

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and 2007 general election and was the National Assembly's Third Vice-president (Third Deputy Speaker of the House) from 2003 to 2007. On May 9, 2007, Gendron was elected acting leader of the Parti Québécois over Marie Malavoy, following the resignation of

André Boisclair André Boisclair (; born April 14, 1966) is a former Canadian politician in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and sovereigntist party in Quebec. Between January 1996 and March 2003, Boisclair serv ...

. During his tenure as acting leader, he played a major role in the adoption of the 2007 budget tabled by Liberal Finance Minister

Monique Jérôme-Forget Monique Jérôme-Forget (; born August 8, 1940) is a psychologist and a former Quebec politician. She was the National Assembly of Quebec, Member of National Assembly (MNA) for the riding of Marguerite-Bourgeoys (provincial electoral district), ...

, as it was during a Liberal minority government. The Parti Québécois had requested additional funding for health, education and the regions as well as a reduction of the income tax cuts that were planned by the Liberals to be $950 million. The Liberals accepted an increase total funding of $111 million without reducing the tax cut and have increased taxes for oil and bank companies. Gendron and the PQ mentioned that the funding was not sufficient to vote for the budget, but only Gendron, House Leader Diane Lemieux and Finance critic

François Legault François Legault (; born May 26, 1957) is a Canadian politician serving as the 32nd premier of Quebec since 2018. A founding member of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), he has led the party since it began in 2011. Legault sits as a Nationa ...

took part of the vote in which the budget passed 46–44 on June 1, 2007. On August 20, 2007, an article from '' La Presse'' reported that Gendron would replace Diane Lemieux as the House Leader of the second opposition group when the National Assembly of Quebec resumed in October 2007. On October 21, 2008, Gendron was named the President of the National Assembly of Quebec, a position equivalent to Speaker in other legislatures. Initially, Maxime Arseneau was the PQ candidate for the position as well as Marc Picard for the

Action démocratique du Québec The (, ), commonly referred to as the , was a right-wing populist and conservative provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. On the sovereignty question, it defined itself as autonomist; it had support from nationalists and federalists. Its ...

and Yvon Vallières for the Liberals. After Picard and Arseneau dropped their candidacy, both opposition parties supported the nomination of Gendron. He is the first MNA from an opposition party to be named as President of the National Assembly since 1887. He would serve in that capacity until after the 2008 provincial election. He currently holds the record as the longest-serving member of the National Assembly, having served for 42 years.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gendron, Francois 1944 births Living people People from Abitibi-Témiscamingue Parti Québécois MNAs Université Laval alumni Leaders of the Parti Québécois Deputy premiers of Quebec Vice presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec 21st-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec

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