Pierre Marc Johnson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 24th Premier of Quebec | |
| In office October 3, 1985 – December 12, 1985 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Lieutenant Governor | Gilles Lamontagne |
| Deputy | Marc-André Bédard |
| Preceded by | René Lévesque |
| Succeeded by | Robert Bourassa |
| Leader of the Opposition (Quebec) | |
| In office December 12, 1985 – November 10, 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Bourassa |
| Succeeded by | Guy Chevrette |
| MNA for Anjou | |
| In office November 15, 1976 – November 10, 1987 | |
| Preceded by | Yves Tardif |
| Succeeded by | René Serge Larouche |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1946-07-05)July 5, 1946 (age 79) Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Political party | Parti Québécois |
| Spouse | |
| Parent | Daniel Johnson Sr. |
| Relatives | Daniel Johnson Jr. (brother) |
| Profession | |
Pierre Marc JohnsonGOQ (born July 5, 1946) is a Canadianlawyer,physician and politician. He was the 24thpremier of Quebec from October 3 to December 12, 1985,[2] making him the province's shortest-serving premier, and the first Baby Boomer to hold the office.
Born inMontreal, Quebec, on July 5, 1946, Johnson is ofFrench-Canadian andIrish descent and is aRoman Catholic. He received a degree in law from theUniversité de Montréal in 1970 and a medical degree from theUniversité de Sherbrooke in 1976.
He is the son of Reine Gagné andDaniel Johnson Sr., who served asPremier of Quebec from1966 to 1968. His brother,Daniel Johnson Jr., served as Premier for nine months in 1994.
Each of the Johnsons led different political parties:
In1976, Pierre Marc Johnson successfully ran as theParti Québécois candidate for the district ofAnjou.PremierRené Lévesque appointed him to thecabinet in 1977 and he was re-elected in1981.
Johnson served as Minister ofLabour from 1977 to 1980, Minister to Consumers, Cooperatives and Financial Institutions from 1980 to1981, Minister of Social Affairs from1981 to 1984 andAttorney General from 1984 to 1985.
In theleadership election of 1985, Johnson was chosen to succeed PQ founderRené Lévesque as leader of the party and consequently as Premier of Quebec.
Johnson was generally considered to be soft on thesovereignty of Quebec issue. He put independence on the back burner, as Lévesque had begun to do under the "beau risque" approach and eventually made that approach the officialconstitutional policy of his party, calling it "National Affirmation".
Johnson was described as somewhat on the right of the party.[3]
He was re-elected to the legislature in1985, but his party was defeated by the Liberals, led byRobert Bourassa.
His leadership was contested by moreradical PQ supporters, such asGérald Godin. On November 10, 1987, he resigned as head of the party,Leader of the Opposition and member of theNational Assembly. He was succeeded as head of the PQ by interim leaderGuy Chevrette and laterJacques Parizeau, who again made independence a primary goal.
Johnson lost in the December 1985 election after becoming leader in October. Johnson became as opposition leader and stepped down as party leader in 1987 (with next election in 1989).
Both a lawyer and a physician, he is a formerProfessor of Law atMcGill University in Montreal and was Counsel at the firm ofHeenan Blaikie LLP in Montreal, Quebec until 2014. He is now Counsel at the firm of Lavery, also in Montreal.[4] In 2001 he was appointed as chief advisor and negotiator of the Quebec government in the Softwood Lumber dispute between Canada and the United States by then PremierBernard Landry.
In October 2006, he was chosen by theCharest government to preside over apublic inquiry into the collapse of aviaduct overAutoroute 19 inLaval, Quebec, leaving five dead and six injured. The choice of Johnson was criticized by both leaders in oppositionAndré Boisclair (PQ) andMario Dumont (Action démocratique du Québec) because of the possibility ofconflict of interest. As president, he was invested with the responsibility of investigating government administration while being a former Minister of theQuebec Government, a former Premier of Quebec, and, until shortly after this nomination, member of theboard of directors of Ciment Saint-Laurent, acement company.[5]
Johnson was appointed by the minority Conservative government to the Canadian delegation at theUnited Nations'Bali Conference on climate change.[1]
Johnson was Quebec's negotiator for CETA (Canada-European-union Trade Agreement).
Johnson refused to take a stance regarding the1995 Quebec referendum on independence.
In December 2005 he made waves in sovereigntist circles by supporting Liberal candidate and close, longtime friendRaymond Bachand in a provincialby-election in theOutremont riding.[6]
| National Assembly of Quebec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | MNA, District ofAnjou 1976–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of theParti Québécois 1985–1987 | Succeeded by Guy Chevrette Interim |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Premier of Quebec 1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition in Quebec 1985–1987 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
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