page_title: Roméo LeBlanc
section_title: As governor general-designate
hierarchical_section_title: Roméo LeBlanc / Governor General of Canada / As governor general-designate
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Sandringham House in Sandringham, Norfolk, Westseite English: Sandringham House in Sandringham, Norfolk, western aspect
context_page_description: Roméo-Adrien LeBlanc PC CC CMM ONB CD was a Canadian journalist, politician, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 25th since the Canadian Confederation.
  LeBlanc was born and educated in New Brunswick, and also studied in France prior to becoming a teacher and then a reporter for Radio-Canada. He was subsequently elected to the House of Commons in 1972, whereafter he served as a minister of the Crown until 1984, when he was moved to the Senate and became that chamber's Speaker.
  In 1994, he was appointed as governor general by Queen Elizabeth II, on the recommendation of Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chrétien, to replace Ramon John Hnatyshyn as viceroy, and he occupied the post until succeeded by Adrienne Clarkson in 1999, citing his health as the reason for his stepping down. His appointment as the Queen's representative caused some controversy, due to perceptions of political favouritism, though he was praised for raising the stature of Acadians and francophones, and for returning Rideau Hall to the centre of life in Ottawa.
  On August 8, 1974, LeBlanc was sworn into the Queen's Privy Council for Canada.
context_section_description: It was announced from the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada on November 22, 1994 that Queen Elizabeth II had approved Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's choice of LeBlanc to succeed Ray Hnatyshyn as the Queen's representative.
  Thereafter, LeBlanc was invited to an audience with the Queen at Sandringham House, and he was said to have been impressed and inspired by the devotion to duty on the part of both Elizabeth and her mother.
  The commission appointing LeBlanc under the royal sign-manual and Great Seal of Canada was issued on January 16, 1995.
  The largest bout of publicity around LeBlanc and regarding his governor generalcy came immediately after the announcement of his appointment to the post: although previous governors general had worked as politicians prior to and after serving as viceroy, the recommendation of a prominent Liberal Party politician and organiser was criticised as being little more than a patronage gift from the Prime Minister to a loyal party member.
  In the 1993 federal election, LeBlanc had been one of the chief architects of the Liberal Party's election strategy, and was a strong party loyalist. In protest, both Reform Party of Canada leader Preston Manning and Bloc Québécois leader Lucien Bouchard refused to attend LeBlanc's installation ceremony.
caption: Sandringham House, where LeBlanc met with Queen Elizabeth II after his appointment as Governor General-Designate
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