Power Corp: The Chinese Connections

Paul Desmarais, Sr.
Born in 1927, Paul Desmarais is the son of a lawyer, Jean-Noel Desmarais, and Lébéa Laforest. Grew up in a prosperous family. Studied at the University of Ottawa where he obtained a B.A. in Commerce. Returned to Sudbury where, in 1951, he took control of a bus company. Created the Transportation Management Corporation Limited in 1959. Through this company he acquired Provincial Transport Ltd in 1960, and then obtained effective control of Gelco Entreprises Ltd in 1962. Bought the Imperial Life Assurance Company of Canada in 1963. Bought Corporations des valeurs trans-Canada, his first conglomerate, in 1965. In 1967, Desmarais' holding company Trans-Canada Corporation Fund (TCCF) created Les Journaux Trans-Canada Ltée, a press company that acquired the great Montreal daily, La Presse. Just after Maurice Strong left as president in 1966, Power Corporation went from record profits to a sharp depression. Desmarais took control of the Power Corporation in 1968 through TCCF and was chairman and CEO until 1996, which is when his son (Jr.) took over. Desmarais Sr. has publicly announced that he has carved out separate areas of responsibility for his two sons, to prevent power struggles between them (Andre is more involved in China (CITIC) whereas Paul Jr. can be found more often in Europe). Made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1978. The Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, February 7, 1997, the words of Senator Jack Austin, President of Canada-China Business Council: "The Canada-China Business Council was organized in 1978, at the very beginning of the Deng Xiaoping economic reform period. It was organized by a group of leaders, Paul Desmarais [Sr.], Maurice Strong, Paul Lin, and one or two others, to begin the development of a commercial relationship with China." Director of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert since 1982 and today (2006) its vice-chairman under his business partner Baron Albert Frère. Together with Frère he has control over Belgian and French companies as Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, Total, Suez, Societe Generale, and Imerys. Made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1986. Became a member of the Privy Council of Canada in 1992, the same year that Maurice F. Strong, Conrad M. Black, and Charles R. Bronfman (brother of Edgar Bronfman, Sr.) were also made members. In the mid-1990s he attended a few meetings of the Trilateral Commission, but was soon followed up by his son Andre. Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Power Corporation of Canada. Chairman of the Board and Deputy Director of Pargesa Holding SA (Switzerland). Director of CLT-UFA (Luxembourg), the Power Financial Corporation, Power Broadcasting Inc., Electrafina SA (Belgium), the London Assurance Group Inc., Group Investors Inc., London Life Assurance Company, La Presse Ltée, the Telegraph Group Limited (England), Total (France), and the Trudeau Foundation. Member of the international advisory committee of the Barrick Gold Corporation and Chase Manhattan Bank (followed up by his son Andre). Member of the Supervisory Council of AXA (largest shareholder in BNP Paribas) and the Compagnie Financière de Paribas (France). Member of the Advisory Board of the Carlyle Group. Companion of the Order of Canada. Officer of the Ordre national du Québec. Officer of the Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur. Commander of the Ordre de Léopold II (Belgium). Prime Minister Paul Martin (PM since 2003; protege of Maurice Strong) and former Prime Ministers Jean Chrétien (PM 1993-2003), Brian Mulroney (PM 1984-1993), and Pierre Trudeau (PM 1968-1979 & 1980-1984) have all been close, personal friends of Paul Desmarais, Sr. The story on Parliament Hill was that Trudeau’s leadership bid was cooked up in Power Corporation's headquarters in Victoria Square in Montreal.
Paul Desmarais, Jr.
Born in 1954. Educated at McGill University in Montréal, Quebec, and at INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France, where he received a Master of Business Administration. S.G. Warburg & Co. in London 1980-1981. Standard Brands Incorporated in New York 1980-1981. Director of Power Corporation since 1981. Vice-president of Power Financial Corporation 1984-1986, a company he helped to establish. President and CEO of Power Financial Corporation 1986-1990. Chairman of Power Financial Corporation since 1990. Director of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert since 1990. Chairman and co-CEO of Power Corporation of Canada since 1996. Annual supporter of the Canadian Policy Research Network since 1996. Vice-chairman of the board and managing director of Pargesa Holding S.A. Vice-chairman of the board of Imerys. Chairman of the Advisory Committee of Sagard Private Equity Partners Europe. Director of Gesca Ltée, Great-West Lifeco Inc., Canada Life Financial Corporation, The Great-West Life Assurance Compagnie, the financial company IGM Inc., Suez, and Total (made a deal with Saddam giving it exploration rights to 25% of Iraq's oil reserves). Director of INSEAD and a member of its Circle of Patrons. Used to be a director of Rhodia (France), Electrafina, and Tractebel (Belgium). Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Committee of HEC Montréal. Founder and member of the International Advisory Board of the McGill University Faculty of Management. Received the Medal of the Confederation commemorating the 125th anniversary of Canadian Confederation in 1992, the Insigne d'Officier de l'Ordre de la Couronne (Belgium) in 1994, and the Golden Jubilee medal from Queen Elizabeth II. In March 2005, he was named an Officer of the Order of Canada. Member of the international advisory board of Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold mining company outside South Africa. He also is a co-chair of the Centraide Campaign 1998, a Montreal volunteer mutual aid network.
Andre Desmarais
Born in 1956. Early in his career involved with Corporation Campeau Limitée (real estate). Special assistant to the Minister of Justice of Canada. Institutional investment councillor at Richardson Greenshields Securities. Joined Power Corporation in the early 1980s. Headed the exploitation department at Power Corporation for several years. Director Groupe Bruxelles Lambert since 1990. President and co-CEO of Power Corporation since 1996 and primarily responsible for the publishing arm of the company. Regularly attends the Trilateral Commission since the late 1990s. Member of the International Advisory Council of J.P. Morgan Chase anno 2005. Director and member of the International Advisory Council of the Hong Kong-based CITIC Pacific, a very large industrial corporation operating in China. Member of the Chief Executive's Council of International Advisors of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), together with Paul Volcker (former head FED; Rockefeller protege), Peter Sutherland (chair Goldman Sachs; chair Trilateral Commission), Maurice R. Greenberg (chair AIG; vice-chairman CFR; Bilderberg; Trilateral Commission; Bohemian Grove; trustee Rockefeller University), Sir John Bond (Chair HSBC; Bank of England; Multinational Chairman's Group). Named an officer of the Order of Canada in 2003. Honorary chairman of the Canada-China Business Council, an organization founded by Maurice Strong and his father. Andre Desmarais is married to France, the daughter of former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.