(Quebec) Prime Minister François Legault has hired a long-time friend and his former chief of staff under the Bouchard government, Daniel Zizian, as a special adviser.
Updated yesterday at 8:00 am.
It is a rare change in the composition of Mr. Legault's inner circle since he came to power in 2018.
La Presse reported last week that Stéphane Gobeil had become director of strategic planning in the Prime Minister's Office. This created a vacancy for the position of special adviser, which will be filled by Mr. Zizian.
“It was out of a deep desire to serve Quebec that I made the decision to return to the service,” writes Daniel Zizian on his LinkedIn account.
The exchange between MM The fight for Legault and Zizian for a position in the cabinet takes place a little after the 2022 general elections, i.e. before the last turbulent months for the government.
Daniel Zizian, 66, signaled to the prime minister during a social gathering that he was willing to come out of his recent retirement to help him. François Legault offered him a full-time position; Mr. Zizian began to think. He then held discussions with the director and deputy chief of staff to Mr. Legault, Martin Koskinen and Claude Laflamme. He was offered a position as special advisor, which he recently accepted.
MM. Legault and Zizian are long-time friends. They met 50 years ago at CEGEP. Daniel Zizian was Mr. Legault's chief of staff from late 1998 to 2001, when he was education minister under the Bouchard government. Mr. Zizian had previously dabbled in politics, working with Pierre-Marc Johnson, then leader of the Parti Québécois and prime minister.
Daniel Zizian was Deputy Secretary General of HEC Montréal from 2001 to 2007. He later became better known to the general public as president of the defunct Conference of Rectors and Directors of Universities of Quebec (CREPUQ). He held this position during the 2012 student crisis. He left her the following year.
Daniel Zizian then headed the Quebec Employer Center for Occupational Health and Safety until his retirement in 2022.