Jean Chrétien (Cinco De Mayo)

Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Canada from 1994 until his ouster in 2003. He led the centrist Liberal Party from its legalisation in 1988 until he was defeated by Carolyn Bennett in 2003 in a leadership challenge, making him the longest-serving leader of a party since the return of democracy to Canada. Before his leadership of the Liberal Party, he served as the Chairman of the Canadian Cabinet-in-exile, which was officially dissolved in 1989 with the free elections held that year. He served as Chairman from 1982 until its dissolution, succeeding Gilles Rocheleau. Both he and Rocheleau were referred to as the "Young Franks" due to their Quebecois heritage and dominance over the government in exile in its latter years. He was at one time a Deputy Minister of Justice under the Trudeau government until his resignation and exile in 1977 in the fallout after the Vancouver Crisis.

Though a national hero upon his retun, Chrétien became boggled down in a 1991 leadership challenge by Paul Martin and disagreements within his Quebec-reliant caucus over the Quebec independence referendum. Chrétien managed to stave off the pro-referendum Martin in a omen for the general election three years later - with the coalition of center-right and right-wing parties running Canada in the early 1990s divided by the independence question, "revanchism" against former Communist officials and economic policy, Chrétien led the Liberals to win a minority government in 1994 with himself as Prime Minister, and in order to build support they added the right-wing Reform Party to their coalition to present a united front against the Bloc Quebecois and sovereigntist movement. Nevertheless, despite intense campaigning by Chrétien, Quebec voted in favor of independence and Chrétien was forced to run in a by-election in an Ottawa-area riding in order to remain Prime Minister. Chrétien led the Liberals to victory in 1997 to win a majority government despite having the reputation as "the Prime Minister who lost Quebec" and won another majority government in 2000. However, he was eventually forced out by the "Martinist" wing of his party in 2003 in a leadership coup led by then-President Paul Martin and former Minister of Transportation Carolyn Bennett.