IN 2009, 30-YEAR-OLD Mélanie Joly's art collection began with a gift from family friends: a series of postcards featuring photos of Lebanon that were taken by Montreal artist Martin Désilets in 2001.
Joly, then a managing partner at Montreal public-relations firm CohnWolf, had long been an avowed art lover. That same year, she launched the Printemps du MAC fundraiser at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Montreal. The volunteer gig fed Joly's passion for art. But she found her true ambition in politics. Around the same time, she co-launched a magazine/ think tank/advocacy group for Quebec's disaffected thirtysomethings. In an open letter, Joly castigated established political parties, writing that the parties' youth wings "often represent a nursery of privileged people 'destined' for political success." She would eventually run for mayor of Montreal herself in 2013, hard-launching her political career.
She lost the mayoral race. But soon after, the call came from Ottawa and she began suiting up for a federal campaign. Amid the hubbub of races lost and races to be run, she decided to buy a piece of art every year for the rest of her life. When she was finally elected as MP in the Montreal riding of AhuntsicCartierville in 2015, she splurged, buying three.
Going from an unknown mayoral candidate to one of the highest-ranking cabinet ministers in just nine years, Joly has seen her political career rocket. Now as foreign affairs minister, she's dealing with heated global politics, often flying off to war zones and international conferences. Her name has even come up as a potential successor to the prime minister. Balancing it all, it seems, is a fine art.
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