# Harry Blank
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{{Short description|Canadian politician (born 1925)}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Harry Blank
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1925|05|24}}
| birth_place = [Montreal](/source/Montreal), Quebec, Canada
| party = [Liberal](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Quebec)
| office1 = Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for [Montréal–Saint-Louis](/source/Montr%C3%A9al%E2%80%93Saint-Louis)
| term_start1 = 1960
| term_end1 = 1966
| predecessor1 = Dave Rochon
| successor1 = District abolished
| office2 = Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for [Saint-Louis](/source/Saint-Louis_(provincial_electoral_district))
| term_start2 = 1966
| term_end2 = 1985
| predecessor2 = District created
| successor2 = [Jacques Chagnon](/source/Jacques_Chagnon)
| profession = Lawyer, politician
| alma_mater = [McGill University](/source/McGill_University)
| branch = [Canadian Army](/source/Canadian_Army)
| service_years =
| rank =
| unit =
| awards = [Queen's Counsel](/source/Queen's_Counsel)
}}
'''Harry Blank''' {{Post-nominals|country=CAN|KC}} (born May 24, 1925) is a Canadian politician from [Quebec](/source/Quebec) and a seven-term member of the [National Assembly of Quebec](/source/National_Assembly_of_Quebec).[{{Quebec MNA biography|blank-harry-2141}}]
==Early background==
Blank is [Jewish](/source/Jewish). He was born on May 24, 1925, in [Montreal](/source/Montreal), [Quebec](/source/Quebec), and was the son of Udel Blank and Molly Zinman. He served in the [Canadian Army](/source/Canadian_Army) during [World War II](/source/World_War_II),[{{cite web|title=Harry Blank (BBHS '41) {{!}} Baron Byng High School Museum|url=http://www.baronbynghighschool.ca/alumni/harry-blank-bbhs-41/|website=www.baronbynghighschool.ca|accessdate=6 May 2018|archive-date=23 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181023080109/http://www.baronbynghighschool.ca/alumni/harry-blank-bbhs-41/|url-status=dead}}] serving during the waning months of the war in Europe. He attended college at [McGill University](/source/McGill_University) and was admitted to the [Bar of Quebec](/source/Bar_of_Quebec) in 1950.
==Political career==
In the [1960 election](/source/1960_Quebec_general_election), Blank ran as a [Liberal](/source/Liberal_Party_of_Quebec) candidate in the provincial district of [Montréal–Saint-Louis](/source/Montr%C3%A9al%E2%80%93Saint-Louis). Even though the Liberal vote was divided between his supporters and those of incumbent Dave Rochon, he narrowly won the election. He was easily re-elected in [1962](/source/1962_Quebec_general_election); and in the district of [Saint-Louis](/source/Saint-Louis_(provincial_electoral_district)) he was re-elected in the [1966](/source/1966_Quebec_general_election), [1970](/source/1970_Quebec_general_election), [1973](/source/1973_Quebec_general_election), [1976](/source/1976_Quebec_general_election) and [1981](/source/1981_Quebec_general_election) elections. He was appointed Deputy Vice President of the National Assembly in 1971 and was Vice President ([Deputy Speaker](/source/Deputy_Speaker)) of that institution from 1973 until 1976.
==Decline==
In the [1985 election](/source/1985_Quebec_general_election), [Official Opposition Leader](/source/List_of_leaders_of_the_Official_Opposition_(Quebec)) [Robert Bourassa](/source/Robert_Bourassa) prevented Blank from running as a Liberal candidate and offered the nomination to [star candidate](/source/star_candidate) [Jacques Chagnon](/source/Jacques_Chagnon).
Blank refused to retire from politics and ran as an [Independent](/source/Independent_(politics)) candidate. He received 20% of the vote and finished third behind Chagnon, who won the election, and the [Parti Québécois](/source/Parti_Qu%C3%A9b%C3%A9cois) candidate.
==Retirement==
After his defeat, Blank returned to law practice. He had been named [Queen's Counsel](/source/Queen's_Counsel) in 1971. He still resides in Montreal.
==See also==
*[Politics of Quebec](/source/Politics_of_Quebec)
*[Quebec general elections](/source/Quebec_general_elections)
*[Quebec Liberal Party](/source/Quebec_Liberal_Party)
==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|ca-qc}}
{{succession box|title = MLA for [Montréal–Saint-Louis](/source/Montr%C3%A9al%E2%80%93Saint-Louis)|
before =[Dave Rochon (Liberal)](/source/Dave_Rochon)|
after =None, district abolished|
years = 1960–1966}}
{{succession box|title = MLA / MNA for [Saint-Louis](/source/Saint-Louis_(provincial_electoral_district))|
before =None, district created|
after = [Jacques Chagnon (Liberal)](/source/Jacques_Chagnon)|
years = 1966–1985}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blank, Harry}}
Category:1925 births
Category:Living people
Category:Anglophone Quebec people
Category:Jewish Canadian politicians
Category:Lawyers from Montreal
Category:McGill University alumni
Category:Members of the National Assembly of Quebec from Montreal
Category:Quebec Liberal Party MNAs
Category:Canadian King's Counsel
Category:Vice presidents of the National Assembly of Quebec
Category:Canadian Army personnel of World War II
Category:20th-century Canadian lawyers
Category:20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Harry Blank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Blank) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Blank?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.