René Lévesque (French pronunciation: [ʁəne leˈvɛːk]) (August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, Canada (1960–1966), the founder of the Parti Québécois political party, and 23rd Premier of Quebec (November 25, 1976 – October 3, 1985). He was the first Quebec political leader since confederation to attempt, through a referendum, to negotiate political independence for Quebec. Lévesque was a recipien...
more
René Lévesque (French pronunciation: [ʁəne leˈvɛːk]) (August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a reporter, a minister of the government of Quebec, Canada (1960–1966), the founder of the Parti Québécois political party, and 23rd Premier of Quebec (November 25, 1976 – October 3, 1985). He was the first Quebec political leader since confederation to attempt, through a referendum, to negotiate political independence for Quebec. Lévesque was a recipient of the title Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honour. He was posthumously made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 2008.
The oldest of four children, René Lévesque was born in the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Campbellton, New Brunswick and raised 133 km away in New Carlisle, Quebec, in the Gaspé peninsula by his parents, Dominic Lévesque, a lawyer, and Diane Dionne. Lévesque attended the Séminaire de Gaspé and the Saint-Charles-Garnier College in Quebec City, both of which were run by the Jesuits. He studied for a law degree at...
less
