Jean Rochon

Jean Rochon (July 29, 1938 – October 16, 2021) was a Canadian politician and member of the National Assembly of Quebec. He was a cabinet minister for several ministries from 1994 to 2003 when the Parti Québécois formed the government under the leadership of Jacques Parizeau, Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry.

Early life Rochon was born in Montreal on July 29, 1938. His father, Albert, was employed as a longshoreman; his mother was Germaine (Laliberté). Rochon completed his secondary education at the in his hometown. He graduated from the Université de Montréal with a Bachelor of Arts in 1958, before earning a law degree from the same institution three years later. He then obtained a medical degree from the Université Laval in 1966, before being awarded a masters and doctorate in public health from Harvard University.

Career Rochon first worked at the Université Laval Faculté de médecine starting in 1970.

Rochon was the head of a major report on the state of health and social services in the provinces from 1985 to 1987, when the Liberals and then-Premier Robert Bourassa were in power. Rochon entered politics in 1994, running in the provincial election that year as a candidate for the Parti Québécois. He was elected to the National Assembly, representing the district of Charlesbourg. He was also responsible for introducing legislation in 1998 to limit public smoking and reduce youth smoking.

After the 1998 elections, Rochon was named Minister of several other portfolios until his retirement in 2003.

Later life After retiring as a professor in January 2003, Rochon continued to be involved in research and training projects at Laval.