LeBlanc, Romeo, << luh BLAHN, roh MAY oh >> (1927-2009), served as governor general of Canada from 1995 to 1999. He was the first person from Canada’s Atlantic Provinces and the first Acadian to hold the post. Acadians are descendants of early French settlers in the Acadia region of southeastern Canada. A Liberal Party member, LeBlanc had served in the Canadian Senate since 1984 and had been Speaker of the Senate since 1993. He was chosen for the position of governor general by the Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
Romeo Adrian LeBlanc was born on Dec. 18, 1927, in L’Anse-aux-Cormier, New Brunswick, near Moncton. He received bachelor’s degrees from St. Joseph University in New Brunswick in 1948 and 1951. After working briefly as a teacher, he became a foreign correspondent for the French-language service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. From 1967 to 1971, he served as press secretary to Liberal prime ministers Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Elliott Trudeau. From 1972 to 1984, LeBlanc represented New Brunswick’s riding (district) of Westmorland-Kent in Canada’s House of Commons. While in the Commons, he served in Trudeau’s Cabinet, chiefly as fisheries minister. LeBlanc died on June 24, 2009.
