Journalist and publisher.

Regarded by some as the best newspaper editorialist of all time, Lise Bissonnette began working at Le Devoir, the most respected French-language newspaper in Canada, in 1974. From 1986 to 1990, she worked as an independent journalist and columnist. Eventually, she rose to the position of publisher at that newspaper, which she held from 1990 to 1998. She is now the director of the National Library of Québec.

Bissonnette is best known for her outspoken positions in favour of feminism's call for the same payment as men receive for work of the same value. She is also a strong advocate of Québec separatism from Canada; she regards Québec's existence within Canada as undesirable and without future for Québecois. However, despite these positions, she has always commanded respect from her opponents because of her insistence on a high quality of debate, one which does not degenerate into emotional outbursts but remains reasonable and analytical.

Bissonnette's most recent work of non-fiction, Toujours la Passion du Présent (1998), examines the political debates and legal decisions concerning the Canadian Constitution. Bissonnette is also a writer of fiction, her most recent book being Quitte et Doubles (1997). Bissonnette holds honorary doctorates from four universities.