Jean Drapeau
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Mayor Jean Drapeau CC GOQ |
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|---|---|
| 37th Mayor of Montreal | |
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In office 1954–1957 |
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| Preceded by | Camillien Houde |
| Succeeded by | Sarto Fournier |
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In office 1960–1986 |
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| Preceded by | Sarto Fournier |
| Succeeded by | Jean Doré |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 February 1916 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | 12 August 1999 (aged 83) Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Political party | Civic Party of Montreal |
| Spouse(s) | Marie-Claire Boucher |
| Alma mater | Université de Montréal |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Signature |  |
Jean Drapeau, CC GOQ (18 February 1916 – 12 August 1999) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986. Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include the development of the Montreal Metro mass transit system, the successful revival of international expositions such as with Expo 67 as well as the construction of a major performing arts centre, the Place des Arts. Drapeau also successfully lobbied for the 1976 Summer Olympics and personally chose its lead architect, Roger Taillibert to design the city's iconic stadium, athlete's village and inclined tower. Drapeau was also primarily responsible for leading the city's effort to secure a Major League Baseball franchise, with the creation of the Montreal Expos in 1969.
Although he is remembered as a visionary, Drapeau's mishandling of the construction of the Olympic Games facilities resulted in massive cost overruns and left the city with a debt of over $1 billion that has taken its citizens over thirty years to fully pay off.
The son of Joseph-Napoléon Drapeau and Alberta (Berthe) Martineau, Jean Drapeau was born in Montreal in 1916. His father, an insurance broker, city councilor and election worker for the Union nationale, introduced him to politics. Jean Drapeau studied law at the Université de Montréal.
Drapeau was a protégé of nationalist priest Lionel Groulx in the 1930s and 1940s, and was a member of André Laurendeau's anti-conscription Ligue pour la défense du Canada. In 1942, he ran as a candidate of the nationalist Bloc Populaire, which opposed Canadian conscription during World War II, in a federal by-election (see Second Conscription Crisis). Drapeau lost the election. He was also a Bloc populaire candidate in the 1944 provincial election but was badly defeated in his Montreal constituency.
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