Gérald Tremblay

Gérald Tremblay (2011)

Gérald Tremblay (born August 20, 1942 in Ottawa , Ontario ) is a Canadian politician and manager . From 1989 to 1996 he was a member of the National Assembly of Québec and was a member of the provincial government until 1994. In 2001 he was elected mayor of the city of Montreal and held that office until his resignation in 2012. He was also chairman of the local Union Montréal party .

biography

Tremblay was born in Ottawa where his father worked as a notary . When he was four years old, the family moved to Montreal. Tremblay graduated from the University of Ottawa with a law degree in 1969 and was admitted to the bar the following year. In 1972 he graduated from Harvard Business School with a Master of Business Administration . From 1974 to 1977 he taught at the École des hautes études commerciales in Montreal, then headed a consulting firm. From 1981 he worked for various state-owned companies in the province of Québec in a leading position in financial management (including Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Hydro-Québec ).

As a candidate for the Parti libéral du Québec , Tremblay was elected to the National Assembly of Québec in September 1989 , where he represented the constituency of Outremont . He served as Minister for Industry, Trade, Science and Technology in the government of Prime Minister Robert Bourassa . In September 1994 the Liberals lost the elections. Tremblay himself succeeded in re-election and then presided over the parliamentary commission for economics and labor. In April 1996 he resigned as an MP. In the following years he worked in the private sector; Among other things, he was President of the Montreal Stock Exchange and built a perfumery chain. In 1999 he was President of the WorldSkills Organizing Committee .

In November 2001 Tremblay ran successfully in the Montreal mayoral elections. He won against the incumbent Pierre Bourque , who had promoted the unification of all 28 parishes on the Île de Montréal and was therefore in a low popularity. Tremblay started with the promise to reverse the controversial mergers and to decentralize the city administration. In July 2004, 15 former parishes decided to secede from Montreal; Tremblay had since switched sides, however, which earned him criticism from his former supporters. He was re-elected in 2005 in the now reduced city.

Tremblay tightened the city council and was concerned to better involve citizens in the decision-making processes of the authorities. On the other hand, the city administration acquired a reputation under his leadership for being closed and not very informative. In the election campaign before the mayoral elections in November 2009, the opposing candidates accused Tremblay of corruption and affiliation with organized crime . He prevailed again, but with just under 38% of the vote.

In October 2012, as part of a public investigation (Charbonneau Commission) set up by the Charest provincial government, it became known that the city of Montreal had awarded numerous construction contracts to a mafia- like cartel. A former Union Montréal official accused Tremblay of knowing about the illegal financial practices. At the same time, he did not want to be informed any further. On November 5, 2012, Tremblay resigned as mayor of Montreal and at the same time announced his retirement from all public positions.

Web links

Commons : Gérald Tremblay  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Biography on the city administration website
• Biography on the Québec National Assembly website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Vincent Larouche: Financement illégal: Gérald Tremblay veut témoigner. La Presse , October 30, 2012, accessed June 20, 2013 (French).  
2. ↑ Karim Benessaieh: Tremblay: "Mon dernier acte d'amour pour Montréal". La Presse , November 5, 2012, accessed June 20, 2013 (French).