Funeral for Paul Gerin-Lajoie, architect of modern Quebec education system, on Aug. 9

NEW YORK – The state funeral for Quebec’s first education minister Paul Gerin-Lajoie will be held in Montreal on Aug. 9.

Premier Philippe Couillard confirmed the date Friday while speaking to reporters in New York City.

The funeral will take place at Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral and be presided over by Christian Lepine, the archbishop of Montreal.

Gerin-Lajoie, who died Monday at 98, was a key architect of education system reforms in Quebec during the 1960s and served as the province’s first education minister from 1964 to 1966 in the Liberal government of Jean Lesage.

He launched a vast survey of education in Quebec and its findings led to a new school system that included free public education, an obligation to attend school until age 16, the establishment of the CEGEP system and an improvement in teacher training.

Born in 1920 in Montreal, Gerin-Lajoie was one of the first Quebecers to win a Rhodes Scholarship in 1938, at the age of 18. He went on to lead the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) from 1969 to 1977 and was later appointed president and CEO of the Old Port of Montreal Corporation.