Michel Gauthier

Michel Gauthier (French pronunciation: ​[miʃɛl ɡotje]; born February 18, 1950 in Quebec City, Quebec) is a Canadian politician, who served as leader of the Bloc Québécois from 1996 to 1997. He was Leader of the Opposition during this time.

Born in Quebec City, Gauthier was first elected as a Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for the Parti Québécois in 1981. He won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons as a candidate the Bloc Québécois in 1993.

Gauthier was not one of the Bloc's better-known Members of Parliament (MPs), but after Lucien Bouchard resigned to become Premier of Quebec, Gauthier won the Bloc Québécois leadership election of 1996, defeating Francine Lalonde. The vote was conducted among members of the party's directorate rather than by all members of the party, and this hurt Gauthier's legitimacy.

His lack of profile resulted in some opposition parties mocking Gauthier as being the "faceless leader" of the opposition, as he was largely a political unknown in most of Canada and even in Quebec. Gauthier's leadership was unpopular with the caucus due to alleged conservative views and lack of charisma, and facing a revolt by his MPs, Gauthier resigned in 1997. He was succeeded by Gilles Duceppe.

As a result of health issues after surgery, he announced in March 2007 that he would not run in the next federal election. He served as BQ House Leader from 1997-2007. Gauthier also served as the chief campaign organizer.

He formally resigned on July 29, 2007, and became the host of Gauthier, a television news show, which began airing on TQS in September 2007.