Thomas Mulcair is the leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada and is the Leader of the Official Opposition. He was the provincial Member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 2007 and has served as the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks from 2003 to 2006, in the Liberal government of Premier Jean Charest. Prior to entering politics, Mulcair was a senior civil servant in the Quebec provincial government, ran a private law practice, and taught law at a university level.