Daniel Johnson, Sr
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Francis Daniel Johnson, Sr. (April 9, 1915 - September 26, 1968) was born in Danville, in the Province of Quebec, Canada. He was Premier of the province from 1966 until his death in 1968.
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Profile
He was first elected leader of the conservative Union Nationale party in 1961. The party had governed Quebec with Maurice Duplessis as its leader from 1935 to 1939, then was interrupted by Adélard Godbout's Liberal government before taking power again from 1944 until its defeat in 1960 by Jean Lesage's Liberal Party. The UN's defeat is seen as the beginning of the Quiet Revolution, which sought to overturn the domination of the Quebec economy by English-speaking people, and the dominant role of the Catholic Church in Quebec Society.
In 1965, his book entitled, Égalité ou indépendance (Equality or independence), made him the first leader of a Quebec political party to recognise the possibility of independence for Quebec. His position on the issue was ambiguous: as he wrote in his book, his position was for "independence if necessary, but not necessarily independence".
Under the same slogan, Égalité ou indépendance, he was elected as premier of Quebec in 1966. He retained this position until his death in 1968. His term was, among other things, qualified by tensions with the Government of Canada over constitutional matters.
His sons, Pierre-Marc Johnson and Daniel Johnson, Jr also became premiers of Quebec: Pierre-Marc as leader of the separatist Parti Quebecois for a brief period in 1985, and Daniel Jr as leader of the federalist Quebec Liberal Party for nine months in 1994.
Elections as party leader
He won the 1966 election and died in office in 1968.
See also
- Politics of Quebec
- List of Quebec Prime Ministers
- List of Quebec general elections
- Timeline of Quebec history
- Prime Minister nicknaming in Quebec
External link
- Extensive biography from Marianopolis College (http://www2.marianopolis.edu/quebechistory/bios/johnsond.htm)
- National Assembly biography (http://www.assnat.qc.ca/fra/membres/notices/j-l/JOHNDP.htm) (in French)
| Preceded by: Jean Lesage | Premier of Quebec 1966-1968 | Succeeded by: Jean-Jacques Bertrand |
| Preceded by: Antonio Talbot | Leader of the Union Nationale 1961-1968 | Succeeded by: Jean-Jacques Bertrand |
| Preceded by: Antonio Talbot | Leader of the Opposition in Quebec 1961-1966 | Succeeded by: Jean Lesage |