Liberal Premier of Quebec Daniel Johnson, 49, is a doctor of law at the University of London, has a Harvard MBA and is a former big-time corporate executive with the Power Corp of Montreal.
He is almost devoid of charisma, a technocrat at heart. His passion is to get things done, in fiscally conservative ways. Not your typical funky, down-to-earth North American.
Mr Johnson has a son and daughter from a first marriage. He has re-married to a businesswoman, Suzanne Marcel.
Jacques Parizeau, 63, is also London-educated, with a doctorate from the London School of Economics. He too wants to get things done, as often as not through state intervention.
Despite the witticisms, he is a formal man who rations his use of the familiar ''tu'' for ''you''. He is regarded by many as aloof and insensitive.
His 1992 marriage to Lisette Lapointe put a spring in his step, and seemed to give him new energy. He drinks and smokes less. The death of his first wife in 1990 plunged him into depression.
