Langevin, Sir Hector Louis

Langevin, Sir Hector Louis ĕktôrˈ lwē läNzhəvăNˈ [key], 1826–1906, Canadian legislator, b. Quebec. A lawyer, he served in the Legislative Assembly (1857–67) and its successor, the House of Commons (1867–74, 1878–96). He was solicitor general (1964–66) for Lower Canada and postmaster (1866–67) before confederation. He succeeded Georges Étienne Cartier in 1873 as leader of the French Canadian Conservative party. After the Conservatives returned to power in 1878, he was postmaster general (1878–79) and minister of public works (1879–91). There were charges of corruption (1891) in Langevin's public works department; although acquitted of complicity, he was found guilty of negligence in office and was forced to resign. He was knighted in 1881.

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