Richard Pollock is 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...

 lawyer and politician. He campaigned for 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 2002 and 2004, as a candidate of the Liberal Party of Canada

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...

.

Pollock was born in Nuoro

Nuoro

Nuoro is a city and comune in central-eastern Sardinia, Italy, situated on the slopes of the Monte Ortobene. It is the capital of the Province of Nuoro. With a population of 36,443 Nuoro is a city and comune (municipality) in central-eastern Sardinia, Italy, situated on the slopes of the Monte...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, and is fluent in English, French and Italian (Windsor Star, 20 February 1999). He holds a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 degree from the University of Windsor

University of Windsor

The University of Windsor is a public comprehensive and research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000 graduate students...

 and a language diploma from the Université de Droit, D'Economie et des Sciences D'Aix-Marseilles. He has studied law at the University of Detroit, and is a partner with the firm Mousseau, DeLuca, McPherson, Prince LLP. He has taught trial advocacy for the Law Society of Upper Canada, and was special assistant to the federal Minister of Agriculture

Minister of Agriculture (Canada)

The Minister of Agriculture is a Minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada, who is responsible for overseeing several organizations including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canadian Dairy Commission, Farm Credit Canada, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, National Farm Products Council and...

 in 1983-84.http://www.cbc.ca/canadavotes2004/riding/209/#rp

Pollock has served as a federal prosecutor since 1988, and has secured many
high-profile drug convictions (e.g. Star, 16 January 1992). He also spoke out in support of Lebanese

Lebanon

Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

 refugees against apparent border discrimination in 1989 (Star, 26 August 1989). In 1990, he was a local organizer for 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....

's bid to lead the federal Liberal Party (Star, 5 January 1990). He sought the Liberal nomination in Windsor—St. Clair

Windsor—St. Clair

Windsor—St. Clair was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 2003. It was located in the province of Ontario, and included a part of the city of Windsor. This riding was created in 1987 as "Windsor—Lake St. Clair" from parts of Essex—Windsor and...

 for a 1999 by-election, but lost to Rick Limoges

Rick Limoges

Richard Limoges is a former Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Windsor—St. Clair in the Canadian House of Commons from 1999 to 2000....

 (Star, 19 February 1999).

After veteran Liberal Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) Herb Gray

Herb Gray

Herbert Eser Gray, is a retired Canadian politician. He was Canada's first Jewish federal cabinet minister, and is one of only a few Canadians ever granted the title The Right Honourable who was not so entitled by virtue of a position held.-Early life:Born in Windsor, Ontario, the son of Harry...

 resigned his seat in 2002, Pollock was chosen over Dana Howe to be the Liberal Party's candidate in a Windsor West

Windsor West

Windsor West is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968.The district consists of the part of the city of Windsor lying west and south of a line drawn from the U.S...

 by-election (Star, 18 March 2002). By this time, Pollock supported Paul Martin

Paul Martin

Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....

's bid to succeed Chrétien as Liberal leader (Globe and Mail, 11 May 2002). He lost the by-election to Brian Masse

Brian Masse

Brian S. Masse is a Canadian politician. He has served in the Canadian House of Commons since 2002, representing the riding of Windsor West as a member of the New Democratic Party....

 of the New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party

The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

, due in part to local divisions within the Liberal Party. Pollock later worked as a Martin organizer in Windsor West, during the formal leadership campaign in 2003 (Star, 23 July 2003).

He was chosen without opposition as the Windsor West Liberal candidate for the 2004 federal election

Canadian federal election, 2004

The Canadian federal election, 2004 , was held on June 28, 2004 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 38th Parliament of Canada. The Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin lost its majority, but was able to form a minority government after the elections...

(Star, 26 February 2004), and lost a second time to Masse by an increased margin.