Lucien Lamoureux, (August 3, 1920 – July 16, 1998) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

politician and

Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada The speaker of the House of Commons (french: président de la Chambre des communes) is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. A member of Parliament (MP), they are elected at the beginning of each new parliament ...

from 1966 to 1974. He is the second longest-serving occupant of that office. After graduating with a law degree from Osgoode Hall in 1945, Lamoureux worked as a political aide to

Lionel Chevrier Lionel Chevrier, (April 2, 1903 – July 8, 1987) was a Canadian Member of Parliament and cabinet minister. Life and career Born in Cornwall, Ontario, the son of former Cornwall mayor Joseph E. Chevrier, he was educated in Cornwall, at the Un ...

, a

Canadian Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the ...

minister in the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...

. In 1954, he left Chevrier's office to establish a law practice in

Cornwall, Ontario Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, situated where the provinces of Ontario and Quebec and the state of New York converge. It is the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry and is Ontario's easternmost city ...

. Lamoureux was first elected to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Commo ...

in the 1962 election as a Liberal

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP). In 1963, he became Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons and decided to stop attending meetings of the Liberal

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

in order to maintain impartiality. Following the 1965 election, Prime Minister

Lester Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

nominated him to the position of Speaker of the House of Commons. Lamoureux served as speaker during two

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in t ...

s, 1965–1968 and 1972–1974, experiences that required him to maintain authority and neutrality in a situation where no party had control of the House. In the 1968 election, he decided to follow the custom of the Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom and stand for election as an Independent. Both the Liberal Party and the Progressive Conservative Party agreed not to run candidates against him. The

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

, however, declined to withdraw their candidate. Lamoureux was re-elected and continued to serve as Speaker. In the 1972 election, Lamoureux again ran as an Independent, this time both the Tories and the NDP ran candidates against him. Lamoureux won re-election by a margin of 5,000 votes. Without an all-party agreement to not run against sitting Speakers in general elections, however, Lamoureux's wish for Canada to follow the British precedent was doomed, and future Speakers would not repeat his attempt to run as an Independent. As the election produced a minority government for the Liberals who had only two more seats than the Conservatives, the closeness of it was perhaps the reason why the opposition parties would choose not to follow such a precedent. In April 1974, Lamoureux became the longest serving Speaker in the history of the Canadian House of Commons, surpassing the record set by

Rodolphe Lemieux Rodolphe Lemieux (November 1, 1866 – September 28, 1937) was a Canadian parliamentarian and long time Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (1922–1930). Biography He was born in Montreal as the son of a Customs officer. After a ...

. In September 1974, Lamoureux announced that he would not run in the 1974 election, and retired from Parliament. He was appointed Canadian

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

following the election. Lamoureux died in 1998. In 1998, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

. On October 12, 2009, Peter Milliken surpassed Lamoureux's record to become the longest-serving occupant of the Speaker's Chair.

External links

*
Speakers of the Canadian House of Commons biography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamoureux, Lucien 1920 births 1998 deaths Independent MPs in the Canadian House of Commons Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Officers of the Order of Canada Politicians from Ottawa Speakers of the House of Commons of Canada Franco-Ontarian people Ambassadors of Canada to Belgium Ambassadors of Canada to Luxembourg Ambassadors of Canada to Portugal