4th Premier of Quebec. A member of the Quebec Liberal Party, he served in this position from March 1878 until October 1879, the first member of the Liberal Party to become Premier. Born Henri-Gustave Joly in Epernay, France, his father was a wealthy entrepreneur in the export business and pioneer of early photography, who was descended from one of the Swiss Huguenot (French Protestant) families. His father traveled throughout Europe in his business and in 1827 he ended up in Montreal, Quebec, Canada where he met and married into an affluent family. From 1836 until 1849, Henri studied in Paris, France, returning to Canada in 1850 and became a lawyer. In 1861 he entered politics and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for Lotbiniere. In 1867 he became Leader of the Quebec Liberals during the Confederation and was re-elected to the Legislature in 1872. In March 1878 Conservative premier Charles-Eugene Boucher de Boucherville resigned and he became Premier, but his government was brought down by a motion of censure in October 1879, and he was replaced by the Conservative, Joseph-Adolphe Chapleau. He remained Leader of the Liberal Party until 1883 and two years later he resigned his seat in the Legislative Assembly. In 1888 he added "de Lothbiniere" (part of his mother's maiden name) to his surname. He received honorary doctorate degrees from Bishop's College in Sherbrooke, Quebec (1887) and Queen's College (now Queen's University) in Kingston, Ontario (1894). In 1895 he was made a knight in the orders of St. Michael and St. George. The following year he was elected to Federal House of Commons in Ottawa, Ontario and served as a cabinet minister from 1897 until he retired in 1900. He then helped to create the Canadian Forestry Administration and became its chairman, and he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, serving until 1906. He died at his home in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada at the age of 78.