Chrétien, (Joseph Jacques) Jean (1934- )

French-Canadian politician, prime minister of Canada 1993-2003. He won the leadership of the Liberal Party in 1990 and defeated Kim Campbell of the governing Progressive ConservativeParty by a landslide margin in the October 1993 election. Although himself a Québécois, he has been consistently opposed Québéc's separatist ambitions, advocating instead national unity within a federal structure. His Liberal Party was re-elected in the 1997 and 2000 general elections. He retired as prime minister in December 2003, being replaced by Paul Martin.

Born in Québéc, he was politically active since his student days and sat in the Canadian House of Commons as a Liberal 1963-86. He held ministerial posts in the Liberal cabinets of Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau, and was the first French Canadian ever to hold the post of minister of finance (1977-79). He was subsequently justice minister (1980-82), energy minister (1982-84) and foreign minister and deputy prime minister (1984). After unsuccessfully contesting the Liberal Party leadership in 1984, he resigned his parliamentary seat in 1986, but returned in 1990 to win the leadership on his second attempt.