The lieutenant governor of Quebec has resigned after disclosing that he wore a swastika as a medical student 54 years ago.
Jean-Louis Roux, 74, a former actor recently appointed to the largely ceremonial position of lieutenant governor by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, faced a barrage of criticism after making the disclosure in an interview with the French-language news magazine L’Actualite.
He also admitted in the interview that he participated in an anti-draft demonstration in 1942 that degenerated into vandalism of Jewish-owned shops.
Faced with criticism from groups including the Canadian Jewish Congress and B’nai Brith Canada, which had called for a full apology to the Quebec Jewish community, Roux issued a statement Monday in which he expressed regret for “an error in my youth.”
On Tuesday, he submitted a one-sentence letter of resignation to Chretien.
Roux was the official representative in Quebec of Canada’s head of state, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.
He is a staunch federalist who opposes the secession of Quebec from the rest of Canada.
Prior to his resignation, many leading separatists had demanded Roux’s dismissal.
Gilles Rheaume, a leader of the Sovereign Movement of Quebec, sent a telegram Monday to Queen Elizabeth asking her to have Roux removed from power.
The separatist Bloc Quebecois had demanded that Roux be recalled by Chretien “for racist behavior.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
