Roméo LeBlanc
Roméo LeBlanc (born
1927 in
Memramcook,
New Brunswick) is a former
Governor General of Canada. His official title is
The Right Honourable Roméo LeBlanc, CC, CMM, CD.
LeBlanc was made Governor General on
February 8.
1995, the first
Acadian and the first from the
Maritimes to hold that post. He resigned from that position in
1999.
Earlier career
\nLeBlanc was a teacher, before becoming a
journalist. After working for
Radio-Canada, he served as press secretary for two
Prime Ministers:
Lester B. Pearson and
Pierre Trudeau.
First elected to the
House of Commons as a
Liberal in
1972, he was minister of fisheries through most of the
1970s under
Pierre Trudeau. Appointed to the
Senate in
1984, he was appointed as its
Speaker in
1993.
His appointment as Governor General by Prime Minister
Jean Chretien was criticized as being little more than a patronage gift. The office of Governor General is supposed to be above politics, but critics alleged LeBlanc only got the job for being a good Liberal and serving Chretien's party for so many years.
His son,
Dominic LeBlanc became a Liberal
MP in 2000.
External links
\n* Wikiquote - Quotes from Roméo LeBlanc \n*
Biography from Governor General's web site
