Mr. Bouchard is a Canadian public official and former politician. Mr. Bouchard, who is fluently bilingual, resides in Lac St. Jean/Saguenay Region of Quebec. After a career as a professor and teacher, Bouchard was elected to the Canadian House of Commons as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Roberval, Quebec in the 1984 election. He was immediately elevated to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's Cabinet as Minister of State for Transport. In 1985, he was promoted to Secretary of State for Canada. He subsequently served as Minister of Employment and Immigration (June 30, 1986 - March 30, 1988), Minister of Transport (March 31, 1988 - February 22, 1990), Minister of Industry, Science and Technology (February 23, 1990 - April 20, 1991), and Minister of Health and Welfare (April 21, 1991 - June 1993). He retired from politics in June 1993 to accept an appointment as Canada's Ambassador to France. In 1996, Bouchard returned to Canada and was appointed Chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada by Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. He oversaw the Canadian portion of the investigation of the Swissair Flight 111 air crash. Mr. Bouchard retired from the Transportation Safety Board in 2001. |