Famous People with Name Riel

Maurice Riel            Origin/Culture/Country: American

Maurice Riel: is a former lawyer and Canadian Senator.A distant relative of Louis Riel, Maurice Riel studied law and was admitted to the bar of Quebec in 1945. Establishing his own law firm in Montreal, Riel worked in international law with a number of clients in France. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1958, and served as chairman of the Metropolitan Montreal Corporation from 1965 to 1969. He served on the board of the Bank of Canada from 1969 to 1963.Riel joined the Liberal Party of Canada in 1947, and served in various capacities with the party. He was appointed to the Senate on the advice of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1973 , and worked on immigration policy and foreign affairs amongst other issues. He was appointed Speaker of the Canadian Senate on December 16, 1983, but served for less than a year in that position due to the Progressive Conservative Party's victory in the 1984 general election. He was replaced as Speaker by Progressive Conservative Guy Charbonneau.

Louis David Riel            Origin/Culture/Country: American

Louis David Riel: was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political and spiritual leader of the Métis people of the Canadian prairies. He led two resistance movements against the Canadian government and its first post-Confederation Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Riel sought to preserve Métis rights and culture as their homelands in the Northwest came progressively under the Canadian sphere of influence. He is regarded by many as a Canadian folk hero today.