Paul Gérin-Lajoie, (; February 23, 1920 – June 25, 2018) 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 ...

lawyer, philanthropist, and a former member of the

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 ...

and

Cabinet Minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ' prime minister', ' p ...

Early life

Born in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, the son of Henri Gérin-Lajoie and Pauline Dorion, he studied at

Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf () is a subsidized private, previously Jesuit French-language educational institution offering secondary school and college-level instruction in Quebec. It was originally a boys' school, became partially mixed in 1968 a ...

, where he was editor of the school paper, the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) 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-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

, and

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

, where he received a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree. He was admitted to the

Bar of Quebec The Bar of Quebec () 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 Canada (). History The begi ...

in 1943.

Career

He ran unsuccessfully as a Liberal candidate in the riding of Vaudreuil-Soulanges in the 1956 general election and in a 1957 by-election. In 1958, he came in second at the Quebec Liberal Party leadership convention. He was elected in Vaudreuil-Soulanges in the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

election and was re-elected in

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

and

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

. From 1960 to 1964 he was the Minister of Youth in the cabinet of

Jean Lesage Jean Lesage (; June 10, 1912 – December 12, 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He served as the 19th premier of Quebec from July 5, 1960, to June 16, 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is often v ...

(eventually serving as vice-premier) and in 1964 became the first person since 1875 to be appointed

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

, serving in that position until 1966. As Minister of Education he was the driving force behind major changes made to Quebec's education system. He did not run for re-election in 1970. Gérin-Lajoie was president of the

Canadian International Development Agency The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA; in French: ''Agence canadienne de développement international''; ''ACDI'') was a federal Canadian organization that administered foreign aid programs in developing countries. The agency was me ...

from 1970 to 1977. He founded the Paul Gérin-Lajoie Foundation, in 1977, an organization that has contributed to the basic education of children in the poorest countries in addition to raising awareness of these countries among primary school children in Canada.

Honours

In 1966, he received an honorary doctorate from

Sir George Williams University Sir George Williams University was a university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It merged with Loyola College to create Concordia University on August 24, 1974. History In 1851, the first YMCA in North America was established on Sainte-Hélène St ...

, which later became

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

. In 1979, he was made a Companion of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

"in recognition of his distinguished services to his country, chiefly as president of the Canadian International Development Agency from 1970 to 1977, and as deputy premier and minister of education of the Government of Québec from 1960 to 1966". In 1987, he was made an Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

and was promoted to Grand Officer in 1998. In 2002, he was made a Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honour by the Government of France. A high school is named in his honour, called École Secondaire Paul-Gérin-Lajoie-d’Outremont; located in the borough of Outremont, Montreal.

Electoral record

References

École Secondaire

External links

*
Fondation Paul Gérin-Lajoie
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerin-Lajoie, Paul Paul Gerin-Lajoie Lacoste family 1920 births 2018 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Canadian King's Counsel Canadian Rhodes Scholars Knights of the Legion of Honour Companions of the Order of Canada Deputy premiers of Quebec Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Lawyers from Montreal Philanthropists from Quebec Politicians from Montreal Quebec Liberal Party MNAs 20th-century Canadian philanthropists 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec Lawyers awarded knighthoods