Jean Charpentier | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 14, 1935 |
| Died | January 8, 2010(2010-01-08) (aged 74) |
| Other names | The Count |
| Occupation | Journalism |
| Spouse | Mary Mackay (m.1990) |
Jean Charpentier (May 14, 1935 – January 8, 2010) was aCanadianjournalist who served as thepress secretary forPierre Trudeau, thePrime Minister of Canada, from 1975 until 1979.[1][2] He was nicknamed "The Count" by journalists and reporters for his "elegance" and manners.[2]
Charpentier was born on May 14, 1935, inOttawa,Ontario, Canada, the second youngest of his father,Fulgence Charpentier's, six children.[1] Fulgence Charpentier had his four eldest children with his first wife, who died. Fulgence remarried to his second wife, Louise Dionne, shortly afterwards. The couple had their two youngest children, including Jean Charpentier.[1] Fulgence Charpentier, who had worked as a journalist covering theParliament of Canada, was the actingMayor of Ottawa at the time of Jean Charpentier's birth.[1]
Fulgence Charpentier worked for the Canadianfederal government as adiplomat and wartimecensorship director duringWorld War II.[1] His father was posted to the Canadian embassy inParis, underGeorges Vanier in 1948, and was the first Ambassador to Africanfrancophonie, based inCameroon, beginning in the 1960s.[1] Fulgence Charpentier died in 2001.[1]
Jean Charpentier learnedSpanish in 1953 while his father was posted at theCanadian embassy inUruguay.[1] In the 1950s, Charpentier began working as a journalist for twoFrench-language Canadian newspapers,Le Devoir andLe Droit.[1] A colleague at theLe Droit,Denis Gratton, coined Charpentier's nickname, "The Count," while working at the newspaper, for his courtesy and manners.[1]
He became atelevision reporter forRadio-Canada, the French-language broadcaster for the CBC, in 1961, where he reported fromParis,London,Toronto andLima,Cambodia,Vietnam, Argentina andNigeria's breakaway region ofBiafra.[1] Charpentier covered theOctober Crisis inQuebec in 1970.[1] He became the first foreign journalist to interviewAugusto Pinochet following the1973 Chilean coup d'état which overthrewSalvador Allende.[1]
Charpentier lefttelevision journalism in the 1970s. His family had connections to then Prime Minister Trudeau through his father and two brothers, who were all diplomats in theDepartment of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.[1] Charpentier would serve as Pierre Trudeau's press secretary from 1975 until 1979.[1]
Charpentier became Trudeau's press secretary at a time of increased friction between the Prime Minister and theCanadian media.[2] Trudeau severely disliked thepress corps,[2] who had developed a reputation for confronting parliamentarians in the hallways of Parliament with difficult questions.[1]
The Prime Minister's communication director,Richard O'Hagan, moved Trudeau's press conferences to theGovernment Conference Centre to better fit the Prime Minister's image.[2]
As press secretary, Charpentier headed the Prime Minister's press conferences at the Conference Centre.[2] He won the respect of the press corps by balancing the competing interests of the print and broadcast media, and, more importantly, the French and English-speaking reporters.[2] He made sure that the same number of French speaking reporters fromQuebec were called upon as the larger English-speaker contingent of reporters.[2]
It is believed that Charpentier had Trudeau write a public letter announcing his separation from his wife, Margaret Trudeau, in 1977, declaring the marital problems as a private matter.[1]
In 1979, Trudeau's government was ended by the oppositionProgressive Conservatives, led byJoe Clark. Charpentier became a communicationsconsultant at theTreasury Board.[1]
The Canadian government asked Charpentier to arrange the official papal visit byPope John Paul II to the country.[1]
He spent the rest of his career as afreelancetranslator.[1] In 1990, he married Mary Mackay.[1]
Jean Charpentier died from cancer on January 8, 2010, in Ottawa at the age of 74.[2] He was survived by his wife, Mary Mackay, and her four children, Tina, Dwayne, Shawn and Derek.[2] He was survived by three siblings - Claire, Louise and Jacques - and predeceased by two brothers, Pierre and Georges.[1]