Aurélien Gill, was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 Senator from his appointment in 1998 until his retirement in 2008.

Early life

Born in Mashteuiatsh, the only Native community in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean

Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean

Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean is a region in Quebec, Canada. It contains the Saguenay Fjord, the estuary of the Saguenay River, stretching through much of the region...

, Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, Gill received a bachelor's degree in pedagogy from Université Laval

Université Laval

Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...

.

An Aboriginal businessman and advocate, Gill also has a background as a teacher and government administrator having been Quebec Director-General of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. He was founding president of the Conseil Attikamek-Montagnais and chief of the Mashteuiatsh

Mashteuiatsh, Quebec

Mashteuiatsh is a First Nations reserve in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada, about north from the centre of Roberval. It is located on a headland jutting out on the western shores of Lake Saint-Jean known as Pointe-Bleue, in the geographic township of Ouiatchouan, and belongs...

 Montagnais community from 1975 to 1982 and from 1987 to 1989.

Gill was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec

National Order of Quebec

The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as l'Ordre national du Québec, and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec...

 in 1991.

Political career

Gill ran for a seat to the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 in the 1993 Canadian federal election

Canadian federal election, 1993

The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25 of that year to elect members to the Canadian House of Commons of the 35th Parliament of Canada. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the House at that time...

. He faced three other candidates in the electoral district of Roberval

Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean

For the electoral district in the Quebec National Assembly see Roberval Roberval—Lac-Saint-Jean is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1949.The riding was created in 1947 from parts of Lake St-John—Roberval riding.The...

. Gill was defeated by Bloc Québécois

Bloc Québécois

The Bloc Québécois is a federal political party in Canada devoted to the protection of Quebec's interests in the House of Commons of Canada, and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was originally a party made of Quebec nationalists who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative...

 candidate Michel Gauthier

Michel Gauthier

Michel Gauthier is a Québécois politician, who served as leader of the Bloc Québécois from 1996 to 1997. He was Leader of the Opposition during this time.- Biography :...

 finishing second, he also finished ahead of future Member of Parliament Alain Giguère

Alain Giguère

Alain Giguère is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Marc-Aurèle-Fortin as a member of the New Democratic Party.Prior to being elected, Giguère was a tax lawyer...

 who finished a distant fourth place.

He was appointed to the Senate on the advice of Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

 Jean Chrétien

Jean Chrétien

Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....

 on September 17, 1998. He sat as a Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 representing the Quebec senatorial district

Canadian Senate divisions

Canadian Senate divisions refers to two things. First, to the four regional Senate divisions of 24 senators as set out in the Constitution of Canada Canadian Senate divisions refers to two things. First, to the four regional Senate divisions of 24 senators as set out in the Constitution of Canada...

of Wellington. He retired from the Senate on his 75th birthday on August 26, 2008.