Jean Chrétien, Former Prime Minister  of Canada 

 Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chretien has taken his final bow with a "Mission Accomplished". It is safe to say that he is Living proof of leadership, and of enthusiasm towards Africa. He courageously supported NEPAD during the G-8 Summit in Kananaskis and as a last gesture made possible the importation of well-needed generic medication to Africa.

The right honorable  Jean Chrétien  was born in Shawinigan, Québec, on January 11   1934.  Son of Wellie Chrétien and  Marie Boisvert-Chrétien.  Jean Chrétien  attended  Colleges in Shawinigan,  Joliette and Trois-Rivières, and studied Law at Laval University. He joined the Bar in 1958 and entered the Cabinet service of Chrétien Landry Deschênes Trudel and Normand in   Shawinigan. In  1962-1963, he was Office Manager of Trois-Rivières. Mr. Chrétien was elected to the House of Commons  on April 8 1963 for the first time, as deputy of Saint-Maurice-Laflèche, and was elected again in 1965.  In July  1965, he was nominated Parliamentary Secretary of Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, and in January 1966, Minister of Finance.

In April 1967, he became Stare Minister associate to the Ministry of Finance and on the 18 January 1968, Minister of National Revenue. At the June 1968 elections, he was elected to the House of Commons for a second time as Deputy of the new Saint-Maurice circumscription. In June 1968 he was sworn in as Minister of Indian and North Canadian Affairs, a post which he held for until August 1974. One month after his reelection, date on which he started his functions as President of the Treasury Council. Mr. Chrétien became Minister of Trade and Industry in September 1976, and was nominated a year later as Minister of Finance, where he remained until June 1978. Electors in Saint-Maurice gave him a sixth mandate during the May 1979 elections.

Reelected once again with an unprecedented majority in February 1980, he became Minister of Justice and General Procurator of Canada, State Minister responsible for social development and Minister responsible for constitutional negotiations. He was Energy, Mines and Resources Minister in 1982 and Candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in June 1984. He was nominated Deputy PrimeMinister and State Secretary of Foreign Affairs. In September of the same year, Mr. Chretien was reelected in the Saint-Maurice circumscription. Member of the official opposition party, he became speaker of  Foreign Affairs.

In  1986, Mr. Chrétien left his functions at the House of Commons, to become Lawyer, Council at the Lang Michener Lawrence and Shaw Cabinet, with offices in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. He also occupied the post of Municipal Counselor with Gordon Corporation Capital in Montreal. In June 1990, he was Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, he won the Beauséjour seat in New Brunswick in the complementary elections in December 1990, and was sworn in as Leader of the opposition.

Mr. Chrétien was reelected in the Saint-Maurice circumscription in October 1993, on that date the Liberal Party won a majority of seats in the House. He was sworn in Prime Minister of Canada on the 4 day of November 1993.  Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was reelected Deputy of Saint-Maurice in November 2000 while his Party obtained , for the third consecutive time, the majority of seats in the House of Commons. He received an honorary Doctorate in Law from Sir Wilfrid Laurier  University in Waterloo in 1981a reçu un doctorat honorifique en droit de l'Université Sir Wilfrid Laurier, à Waterloo (1981),from Laurentienne University in Sudbury, University of Western Ontario, in London (1982), from Glendon University College of York in Toronto (1986), from the 'University of Alberta, in Edmonton (1987), and from the Lakehead University, in  Thunder Bay (1988).

He also received honorary Doctorates from the University of Ottawa in  (1994);  University of Meiji in Japan (1996);   l'École d'économie de Varsovie, in Poland (1999);  Michigan State University (1999);   Hebrew University in  Jerusalem (2000); as well as Memorial University in  St. Johns (2000).

Jean Chrétien is espoused to Aline Chaîné, native of Shawinigan, the couple has three children: France, Hubert and Michel.