President of the National Assembly of Quebec
The president of the National Assembly of Quebec (French; Président de l'Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the presiding officer of the National Assembly of Quebec, Canada, which is modeled after the Westminster parliamentary system. In other Anglophone parliaments and legislatures the equivalent position is often called the "Speaker", which is why from 1867 to 1968, the presiding officer of the Assembly was known in French as "orateur," a translation of the English term "speaker".
Description
The President of the National Assembly is fifth in the Quebec order of precedence, after the King of Canada, the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, the Premier, and the Deputy Premier. The National Assembly elects the president at the beginning of a legislature, for the length of the legislature. The president is assisted by the Vice Presidents of the Assembly, who serve in the absence of the president. Parti Québécois Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Louise Harel made history by being appointed as the first female President on March 12, 2002. The current President of the Assembly is the CAQ MNA Nathalie Roy. Roy is the second woman to serve in the role after Harel herself.
Roles
The function of the President holds three major roles.
- Presiding over Assembly hearings.
- Administration of Assembly services.
- Representing the Assembly, notably in relations with other parliaments.
List of Presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec
| No. | Portrait | Name Electoral district (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Party | Legislature | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Term start | Term end | ||||||
| 1 | 
|
Joseph-Goderic Blanchet MLA for Lévis (1829–1890) |
December 27, 1867 |
June 7, 1875 |
Conservative | 1st | |
| 2nd | |||||||
| 2 | 
|
Pierre-Étienne Fortin MLA for Gaspé (1823–1888) |
November 4, 1875 |
November 9, 1876 |
Conservative | 3rd | |
| 3 | 
|
Louis Beaubien MLA for Hochelaga (1837–1915) |
November 10, 1876 |
May 1, 1878 |
Conservative | ||
| 4 | 
|
Arthur Turcotte MLA for Trois-Rivières (1845–1905) |
June 4, 1878 |
March 8, 1882 |
Independent Conservative | 4th | |
| 5 | 
|
Louis-Olivier Taillon MLA for Montréal-Est (1840–1923) |
March 8, 1882 |
January 23, 1884 |
Conservative | 5th | |
| 6 | 
|
Jonathan Saxton Campbell Würtele MLA for Yamaska (1828–1904) |
March 27, 1884 |
June 28, 1886 |
Conservative | 6th | |
| 7 | 
|
Félix-Gabriel Marchand MLA for Saint-Jean (1832–1900) |
January 27, 1887 |
April 26, 1892 |
Liberal | ||
| 7th | |||||||
| 8 | 
|
Pierre-Évariste Leblanc MLA for Laval (1853–1918) |
April 26, 1892 |
November 23, 1897 |
Conservative | 8th | |
| 9 | 
|
Jules Tessier MLA for Portneuf (1852–1934) |
November 23, 1897 |
February 14, 1901 |
Liberal | 9th | |
| 10 | 
|
Henri-Benjamin Rainville MLA for Montréal division no. 3 (1852–1937) |
February 14, 1901 |
March 2, 1905 |
Liberal | 10th | |
| 11 | 
|
Auguste Tessier MLA for Rimouski (1853–1938) |
March 2, 1905 |
March 23, 1905 |
Liberal | 11th | |
| 12 | 
|
William Alexander Weir MLA for Argenteuil (1858–1929) |
April 25, 1905 |
August 31, 1906 |
Liberal | ||
| 13 | 
|
Philippe-Honoré Roy MLA for St. Jean (1847–1910) |
January 15, 1907 |
June 8, 1908 |
Liberal | ||
| 14 | 
|
Jean-Marie-Joseph-Pantaléon Pelletier MLA for Sherbrooke (1860–1924) |
March 2, 1909 |
August 7, 1911 |
Liberal | 12th | |
| 15 | 
|
Cyrille-Fraser Delâge MLA for Québec-Comté (1869–1957) |
January 9, 1912 |
November 7, 1916 |
Liberal | ||
| 13th | |||||||
| 16 | 
|
Antonin Galipeault MLA for Bellechasse (1879–1971) |
November 7, 1916 |
August 25, 1919 |
Liberal | 14th | |
| 17 | 
|
Joseph-Napoléon Francoeur MLA for Lotbinière (1880–1965) |
December 10, 1919 |
January 10, 1928 |
Liberal | 15th | |
| 16th | |||||||
| 18 | 
|
Hector Laferté MLA for Drummond (1885–1971) |
January 10, 1928 |
April 24, 1929 |
Liberal | 17th | |
| 19 | 
|
Télesphore-Damien Bouchard MLA for Saint-Hyacinthe (1881–1962) |
January 7, 1930 |
June 6, 1935 |
Liberal | ||
| 18th | |||||||
| 20 | Lucien Dugas MLA for Joliette (1897–1985) |
March 24, 1936 |
October 7, 1936 |
Liberal | 19th | ||
| 21 | 
|
Paul Sauvé MLA for Deux-Montagnes (1907–1960) |
October 7, 1936 |
February 19, 1940 |
Union Nationale | 20th | |
| 22 | 
|
Bernard Bissonnette MLA for L'Assomption (1898–1964) |
February 20, 1940 |
May 8, 1942 |
Liberal | 21st | |
| 23 | 
|
Valmore Bienvenue MLA for Bellechasse (1894–1952) |
May 12, 1942 |
November 5, 1942 |
Liberal | ||
| 24 | 
|
Cyrille Dumaine MLA for Bagot (1897–1946) |
February 23, 1943 |
February 7, 1945 |
Liberal | ||
| 25 | Alexandre Taché MLA for Hull (1899–1961) |
February 7, 1945 |
December 15, 1955 |
Union Nationale | 22nd | ||
| 23rd | |||||||
| 24th | |||||||
| 26 | Maurice Tellier MLA for Montcalm (1896–1966) |
December 15, 1955 |
September 20, 1960 |
Union Nationale | |||
| 25th | |||||||
| 27 | Lucien Cliche MLA for Abitibi-Est (1916–2005) |
September 20, 1960 |
December 15, 1961 |
Liberal | 26th | ||
| 28 | John Richard Hyde MLA for Westmount–Saint-Georges (1912–2003) |
January 9, 1962 |
October 14, 1965 |
Liberal | |||
| 27th | |||||||
| 29 | Guy Lechasseur MLA for Verchères (1916–2005) |
October 22, 1965 |
December 1, 1966 |
Liberal | |||
| 30 | Rémi Paul MLA for Maskinongé (1921–1982) |
December 1, 1966 |
October 21, 1968 |
Union Nationale | 28th | ||
| 31 | Gérard Lebel MNA for Rivière-du-Loup (1930–2020) |
January 1, 1969 |
December 23, 1969 |
Union Nationale | |||
| 32 | Raynald Fréchette MNA for Sherbrooke (1933–2007) |
February 24, 1970 |
June 8, 1970 |
Union Nationale | |||
| 33 | Jean-Noël Lavoie MNA for Laval (1927–2013) |
June 8, 1970 |
December 14, 1976 |
Liberal | 29th | ||
| 30th | |||||||
| 34 | Clément Richard MNA for Montmorency (1939–2022) |
December 14, 1976 |
November 6, 1980 |
Parti Québécois | 31st | ||
| 35 | Claude Vaillancourt MNA for Jonquière (born 1944) |
November 11, 1980 |
March 23, 1983 |
Parti Québécois | |||
| 32nd | |||||||
| 36 | Richard Guay MNA for Taschereau (born 1943) |
March 23, 1983 |
December 16, 1985 |
Parti Québécois | |||
| 37 | Pierre Lorrain MNA for Saint-Jean (1942–2004) |
December 16, 1985 |
November 28, 1989 |
Liberal | 33rd | ||
| 38 | Jean-Pierre Saintonge MNA for La Pinière (born 1945) |
November 28, 1989 |
November 29, 1994 |
Liberal | 34th | ||
| 39 | Roger Bertrand MNA for Portneuf (born 1947) |
November 29, 1994 |
January 29, 1996 |
Parti Québécois | 35th | ||
| 40 | 
|
Jean-Pierre Charbonneau MNA for Borduas (born 1950) |
March 12, 1983 |
March 12, 2002 |
Parti Québécois | ||
| 36th | |||||||
| 41 | 
|
Louise Harel MNA for Hochelaga-Maisonneuve (born 1946) |
March 12, 2002 |
June 4, 2003 |
Parti Québécois | ||
| 42 | 
|
Michel Bissonnet MNA for Jeanne-Mance–Viger (born 1942) |
June 4, 2003 |
July 14, 2008 |
Liberal | 37th | |
| 38th | |||||||
| 43 | 
|
François Gendron MNA for Abitibi-Ouest (born 1944) |
October 21, 2008 |
January 12, 2009 |
Parti Québécois | ||
| 44 | 
|
Yvon Vallières MNA for Abitibi-Ouest (born 1949) |
January 13, 2009 |
April 5, 2011 |
Liberal | 39th | |
| 45 | 
|
Jacques Chagnon MNA for Westmount–Saint-Louis (born 1952) |
April 5, 2011 |
November 26, 2018 |
Liberal | ||
| 40th | |||||||
| 41st | |||||||
| 46 | .JPG)
|
François Paradis MNA for Lévis (born 1957) |
November 26, 2018 |
November 28, 2022 |
Coalition Avenir Québec | 42nd | |
| 47 | .jpg)
|
Nathalie Roy MNA for Montarville (born 1964) |
November 29, 2022 |
Incumbent | Coalition Avenir Québec | 43rd | |
All but one speaker was born in the province (Valmore Bienvenue was born in the United States to Québécois parents). Henri-Benjamin Rainville died in the US and Cyrille Dumaine died in Ottawa.