French-Canadian politician. Murder victim. Born and raised in Montreal, he took a job at the French-language newspaper Le Devoir in 1946, becoming a parliamentary correspondent who was critical of the government of Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis. In 1961, he was elected to the Quebec legislature as a Liberal, representing the riding of Chambly. He was named Minister of Municipal Affairs in 1962 and then Cultural Affairs in 1964. He lost both jobs after the Quebec Liberal Party lost the 1966 election and he became part of the Opposition. In 1969, he ran for the Quebec Liberal Party leadership but lost to Robert Bourassa. When Bourassa became premier of Quebec in April 1970, he named Laporte vice-premier and Minister of Labour and Immigration. On October 10 of that year, Laporte was kidnapped from the lawn of his home by a cell of the Front Liberation du Quebec (FLQ), a terrorist organization dedicated to the independence of Quebec from Canada. Among the group's demands were the release of their fellow FLQ members from jail and safe passage for them to Cuba, the broadcasting of the group's manifesto, and a ransom of gold. The chain of events, known as the October Crisis, prompted then-Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau (Father of Justin Trudeau) to proclaim the War Measures Act, a form of martial law that suspended the civil rights of Canadians. The proclamation led to the murder of Laporte by his captors on October 17. The cause of death was strangulation. His body was found stuffed in the trunk of a car near St. Hubert airfield in Montreal. His funeral was attended by numerous dignitaries, including Trudeau, and resulted in a sympathy call from U.S. President Nixon. A bridge near Quebec City, along with numerous schools and streets throughout Quebec and Canada, are named after him.