Gilles Duceppe (original) (raw)

Gilles Duceppe (b. July 22, 1947) is a Canadian politician. He is the son of a well-known Quebec actor, Jean Duceppe, and Helene Rowley.

Duceppe is a native of Montreal, and studied political science at the University of Montreal. In his youth he was involved in the Communist Worker's Party, and he later became a trade union negotiator.

In 1990 Duceppe was elected for the newly-formed Bloc Qu�b�cois in a by-election in Montreal's Laurier-Sainte-Marie riding.

In 1997 he was elected leader of the Bloc, and consequently became Leader of the Opposition. Later that year, a general election removed the Bloc from official opposition status.

Upon Paul Martin, Jr becoming leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in 2003, Duceppe became the longest-serving current leader of a major party in Canada.