He was first elected leader of l'Union Nationale in 1961. In 1965, his book entitled, Égalité ou indépendance (Equality or independence), made him the first leader of a Quebec political party to recognise the possibility of independence for Quebec - but as he said in his book "independence if necessary, but not necessarily independence". It is under the same slogan, Égalité ou independance, that he was elected as Prime Minister of Quebec in 1966. He would retain this position until his death in 1968. His reign was, among other things, qualified by tensions with the federal government in Ottawa over constitutional matters.
His sons, Pierre-Marc Johnson and Daniel Johnson, Jr would also become Prime Ministers of Quebec for two different parties.
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Preceded by: Jean Lesage | List of Quebec premiers |
Succeeded by: Jean-Jacques Bertrand |