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Born in Sherbrooke, Quebec, he worked as a lawyer from 1981 until he was elected Progressive Conservative member of the Canadian Parliament for the riding (electoral district) of Sherbrooke in the 1984 election. In 1986, at age 28, he was appointed to the Cabinet of then-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney as Minister of State for Youth. He was the youngest cabinet minister in Canadian history. He was appointed Minister of State for Fitness and Amateur Sport in 1988, and Minister of the Environment in 1991.

After Mulroney's retirement as PC Party leader and prime minister, Charest was a candidate for the leadership of the party at the 19931993 is a common year starting on Friday and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003 Events January January 1 Czechoslovakia divides. Establishment of independent Slovakia and Czech Republic. Progressive Conservative leadership convention. He impressed many observers and party members, and placed a strong second to Defence Minister Kim CampbellKim Campbell Rank 19th Term June 25 November 4, 1993 Predecessor Brian Mulroney Successor Jean Chretien Date of Birth March 10, 1947 Place of Birth Port Alberni, British Columbia Profession politician Political Party Progressive Conservative The Right Hon, who had held a large lead going into the convention. Charest served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry, Science and Technology in Campbell's short-lived cabinet.

In the 1993 electionThe 1993 Canadian federal election which took place on October 25th, 1993, was one of the most eventful in Canadian history. While Canada's traditional ruling party, the Liberals, was returned to power, the equally old Progressive Conservative Party was a, the Conservative party was swept from power: only two of the party's 295 candidates were elected—Charest and Elsie WayneElsie Eleanore (nee Fairweather) Wayne (Born in Shediac, New Brunswick, Canada circa. 1933) is a Canadian politician. She announced her retirement from politics on February 16, 2004 and did not run for re-election in the 2004 election. In 1977, she was el. Charest was appointed interim party leader following Campbell's resignation.

In April 19951995 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). It has a Golden number of 1, and was the first year of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995- 2005): http://www. org/culture/indigenous . Events January events Ja, he was confirmed as party leader and launched an effort to re-build the party. In the 1997 electionIn the 1997 Canadian election held on June 2, 1997, Jean Chretien's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government. The Reform Party of Canada replaced the Bloc Quebecois as the Official Opposition. The election closely reflected the pattern tha, the Tories received 19% of the vote, but won only 20 seats out of 301, mostly in Atlantic Canada. The party was back from the brink, but Charest considered the result a disappointment.

In April 1998, Charest gave into considerable public and political pressure to leave federal politics and become leader of the Quebec Liberal Party. Charest was cosidered by many to be the best hope for the federalist QLP to defeat the sovereigntist Parti Québécois government. (The QLP is not affiliated with the federal Liberals.)

In the 1998 Quebec election, the Quebec Liberals received more votes than the PQ, but because the Liberal vote was concentrated in fewer ridings, the PQ won enough seats to form another majority government. The two parties won almost the same unmber of seats in the National Assembly of Quebec as they had won in the previous election in 1994, in which the Liberals had been led by Daniel Johnson, Jr.

In the April 2003 election, Charest was elected premier of Quebec with a majority government, ending nine years of rule by the PQ.

Declaring that he had a mandate to reform health care, cut taxes, reduce spending and reduce the size of government, Charest prepared an ambitious neoliberal agenda. However, as of early 2004, he has encountered substantial opposition from unions and other groups, and he and his party have suffered considerable loss of popularity in the polls (see Opposition to the Charest government).