Bernard Richard, a lawyer and a former social worker, was born April 11, 1951 , in Toronto , Ontario (son of Joseph Richard and Yvonne Goguen) . His family returned to Cap-Pelé and he attended local schools. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree (psychology) from Université de Moncton and a Bachelor of Laws from theUniversity of New Brunswick.

He is a member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Law Society of New Brunswick and the Association des juristes d’expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick. He practiced law at Cap-Pelé with the law firm of Richard, Savoie, Belliveau. Prior to attending law school, he worked as a social worker.

In the 1974 provincial election he offered as a candidate for the Parti acadien in the new single-member riding of Shediac. He was later elected to the council of the Village of Cap-Pelé and he served as deputy mayor from 1977 to 1980. He also served as Secretary General of the Société Nationale de l’Acadie from 1980 to 1984.

Mr. Richard was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick on September 23, 1991 , as the M.L.A for Shediac. He was re-elected September 11, 1995 , to represent the new riding of Shediac-Cap-Pelé, and was subsequently appointed Minister of State for Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs. He added the responsibilities of acting Minister of Justice and Attorney General on March 27, 1997. He was appointed Minister of Education on July 21, 1997. He resigned as a member of the Executive Council February 6, 1998, to run for the leadership of the provincial Liberal Party. On May 14, 1998 , he was sworn in as Minister of Education, and served in that capacity until June 21, 1999 . He also served as Minister responsible for social policy renewal during this same period.

Mr. Richard was re-elected in the provincial general election held June 7, 1999 , to represent Shediac-Cap-Pelé.

On March 21, 2001 , he was chosen as Leader of the Official opposition and Interim Leader of the Liberal Party of New Brunswick. He held this post until May 11, 2002. On May 14, 2002, he assumed the role of Opposition House Leader. He was also chair of the Official Opposition caucus. Mr. Richard has twice been the chargé de mission for the Americas region of the Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie.

He was re-elected in the provincial general election held June 9, 2003 . He continued as Official Opposition House Leader. He announced his decision to leave political life on November 25, 2003.

On January 3, 2004, Mr. Richard assumed the responsibilities of New Brunswick Ombudsman. He is the 6th person to occupy this position. In May 2005, Mr. Richard was elected president for a term of two years, of the Forum of Canadian Ombudsman, an association of Ombudsman from the public, university and private sectors. He is also the vice-president of the Association des Ombudsmans et Médiateurs de la Francophonie since November 2005. In November 2006, Mr. Richard was appointed New Brunswick ‘s first Child and Youth Advocate. In May 2007, he was elected president of the Canadian Council of Parliamentary Ombudsman.

Source: Sylvia’s Site, Research P. Richard