John James "Jean" Charest PC (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ ʃɑʁɛ]; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012.

In 1986 he joined Brian Mulroney's government as a minister of state, but resigned from cabinet in 1990 after improperly speaking to a judge about an active court case.

Charest ran to succeed Mulroney as party leader and prime minister in the PCs' 1993 leadership election, but placed second to Kim Campbell.

After politics, Charest worked as a consultant, including for Huawei on the Meng Wanzhou case and for its 5G network plans in Canada, and joined McCarthy Tétrault LLP as a partner.

[1] His parents are Rita (née Leonard), an Irish Quebecer, and Claude "Red" Charest, a French Canadian.

[7] Charest was appointed minister of state (fitness and amateur sport) in 1988,[6] but had to resign from cabinet in 1990 after improperly speaking to a judge about a case regarding the Canadian Track and Field Association.

[8] Charest was involved in the proposal of the Meech Lake Accord (which failed to be ratified in June 1990[9]) which would have given the province of Quebec the status of a "distinct society", extend provincial powers, and extensively change the constitution.

[10] The recommendations caused Mulroney's environment minister and Quebec lieutenant, Lucien Bouchard, to view the companion accord as a betrayal of Meech.

[15] Charest placed a strong second to Defence Minister Kim Campbell, who had held a large lead going into the convention.

As the only surviving member of what turned out to be the last PC Cabinet, Charest was appointed interim party leader and confirmed in the post in April 1995.

While the Tories finished only half a point behind Reform in terms of the popular vote, their support was too dispersed west of Quebec to translate into seats.

In the April 2003 election, Charest led the Quebec Liberals to a majority, ending nine years of PQ rule.

The Harper government was widely expected to address this issue through increased equalization payments, while falling short of Quebec's overall demands.

[26] The proposed plan, described as "a potential centrepiece" of Charest's political legacy, received the full support of the mining industry, the Crees and Inuit representatives but was met with scepticism and downright opposition by the Innus and most environmentalists.

His government set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets, petroleum royalties, and a 2011-2020 Action Plan for Electric Vehicles.

This promise was seen as key to his victory in many ridings, such as those in the suburbs around Longueuil and Quebec City and the continued support of the Anglophone community in the West Island of Montreal.

The government faced major challenges when students demonstrated and went on strike by boycotting classes to protest planned tuition increases.

[35] The government passed Bill 78 to impose restrictions on protests; this caused controversy, with the Barreau du Québec, among others, expressing concern about possible infringement of constitutional rights.

On December 6, 2007, the Opposition urged Charest to testify to the House of Commons of Canada Ethics Committee in its investigation of Karlheinz Schreiber.

[36] Charest's third term was marked by several allegations of questionable financing from the Quebec Liberal Party as well as a multitude of scandals in the construction sector in Quebec, the loss of $39.8 billion from the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, and the Marc Bellemare (Charest's former justice minister) affair.

[38] Charest finally launched an inquiry in 2012 through the creation of the Charbonneau commission in response to rising discontent within the Quebec Liberal caucus.

[39] The Charest government was deeply unpopular during its first years in office, enjoying a public approval rating of below 50 per cent in most opinion polls and falling to the low twenties in voter support.

Charest conducted an extraordinary session the day before with Finance Minister Michel Audet delivering the 2007 budget.

In November 2008, arguing that Quebecers needed a majority government during difficult economic times, Charest called a snap election for December 8.

The QLP focused its campaign on the issues of respect of the law and civil order, referencing the demonstrations of the previous months.

It was the first provincial election in Quebec to feature the newly formed CAQ party led by François Legault on the ballot.

In January 2024, Charest decided to leave McCarthy Tétrault and joined the Therrien Couture Joli-Cœur group.