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François Fillon (IPA: [f??~.swa fi.j?~]; born 4 March 1954 in Le Mans, Sarthe) is the current Prime Minister of France, having been appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007.[1]
As a member of the UMP party, Fillon became Jean-Pierre Raffarin's Minister of Labour in 2002 and undertook controversial reforms of the 35-hour working week law and of the French retirement system (Loi Fillon). He became Minister of Education and Research in 2004 and proposed the much debated Fillon law on Education. In 2005, he was not included in the new government headed by Dominique de Villepin, but was elected senator for the Sarthe département. His role as a political advisor in Nicolas Sarkozy's successful race for president led to his current role.
Early life
The Fillon family has its roots in the Sarthe area.
François Fillon's father is a civil law notary, whilst his mother, Anne Fillon, is a celebrated historian and his youngest brother, Dominique, is a talented pianist.[2]
Fillon lives with his wife, Penelope, and five children, Marie, Charles, Antoine, Édouard and Arnaud, in the 12th century Château de Beaucé, set in 20 acres (8 ha) of woodland on the banks of the River Sarthe at the famous monastery village of Solesmes, near Sablé-sur-Sarthe about halfway between Le Mans and Angers. M. and Mme Fillon resided in various other properties, always in the Sarthe, throughout their marriage, before buying Beaucé in 1993.[2]
Family roots and connections with United Kingdom
François Fillon speaking in the Assemblée nationale.
Fillon has a reputation as an Anglophile and has had speaking engagements at a wide variety of universities in Britain, notably the London School of Economics.[3]
His wife Penelope Kathryn Clarke was born in the village of Llanover, near Abergavenny in Wales, like him the child of a solicitor. They met while she was teaching English in her gap year in Le Mans, and they were married in the bride's family church in June 1980.[4] Many notable guests attended their wedding, including the solicitor Gillian Powell, and her husband Graham.[2][5][6] Fillon's younger brother, Pierre, an ophthalmic specialist, later married Penelope Fillon's younger sister, Jane.
Having lived all his life in the Le Mans area and now representing it politically, Fillon is an enthusiastic supporter of the city's famous 24 hour sportscar race, which he has attended nearly every year since he was a small child. He is a member of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest, which stages the event, and is on the race's organisation committee. He has competed himself in the Le Mans Legend historic sportscar races on the full 24-hour circuit and in a number of other classic road rallies.[7]
Professional résumé
[] Education
Political career
Early appointments
- 1976 to 1977, Parliamentary Assistant to Joël Le Theule, deputy of Sarthe.
- 1977 to 1978, Chief Assistant of the Cabinet to Joël Le Theule, Minister of Transportation.
- In 1980, Chief Assistant of the Cabinet to Joël Le Theule, Minister of Defense.
- In 1981, Chief of the Service of Legislative and Parliamentary Work to the Cabinet of Michel Giraud, Minister of Industry.
Local elective career
- 1981 - 1986, elected city council member of Sablé-sur-Sarthe.
- Deputy-mayor, in charge of the economic affairs.
- March 1983 - 2001, Mayor of Sablé-sur-Sarthe.
- February 1981 - 1998, General Council member for the canton of Sablé-sur-Sarthe.
- March 1985, vice-president of the General Council, in charge of the Economic affairs.
- 1992 - 1998, President of the General Council of Sarthe.
- Since 1998, Regional Council member of Pays de la Loire.
- From April 1998 to May 2004, President of the Regional Council of Pays de la Loire.
- Since 2001, city council member of Solesmes in Sarthe.
- President of the Communauté de communes de Sablé-sur-Sarthe.
Party positions
- 1997, National Secretary of RPR, in charge of the Federations.
- 1998, Executive Commission Spokesman of RPR.
- 1999, candidate at the RPR leadership election (eliminated in the first round)
- Since 2002, founder member of Union en Mouvement, writer of the project of Union en Mouvement ("Our vision for France") and President of the Association France.
Parliamentary career
- In 1981, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1997,2002 and 2007, elected and re-elected to the National Assembly for the 4th district of Sarthe, running for the UMP.
- Member of the Commission of Defense.
- President of the France-Thailand Friendship Group.
- In 2005, elected senator from the Sarthe.
Ministerial career
- April 1993 - 1995, Minister for the Higher education and Research.
- May - November 1995, Minister of Postal Services and Information Technologies, then Minister delegated to the Postal Services, Telecommunications and Space.
- May 2002 - March 2004, Minister of Social Affairs, Work and Solidarity.
- March 2004 - June 2005, Minister of National Education, Higher Education and Research
- 17 May 2007 - Appointed Prime Minister by President Nicolas Sarkozy
Prime Minister
The day after he became President, Nicolas Sarkozy appointed Fillon as Prime Minister of France, charging him with the task of forming a new cabinet, which was announced on 18 May 2007.[8] By appointing as Secretary of State André Santini, who had been indicted in the Fondation Hamon affair on charges of corruption, Fillon broke for the first time since 1992 with the so-called "Balladur jurisprudence," according to which an indicted governmental personality should resign until the case is closed [9].
Fillon's First Government
From 17 May to 18 June 2007.
Ministers
Secretaries of State
- Roger Karoutchi - Secretary of State for Parliamentary Relations (under Fillon)
- Éric Besson - Secretary of State for Economic Prospective and Evaluation of Public Policies (under Fillon)
- Dominique Bussereau - Secretary of State for Transport (under Juppé)
- Jean-Pierre Jouyet - Secretary of State for European Affairs (under Kouchner)
High Commissioner
- Martin Hirsch - High Commissioner for Active Solidarities against Poverty
Fillon's Second Government
Appointed on 19 June 2007 [10]
Ministers
Secretaries of State
- Roger Karoutchi - Secretary of State for Parliamentary Relations (under Fillon)
- Jean-Pierre Jouyet - Secretary of State for European Affairs (under Kouchner)
- Laurent Wauquiez - Secretary of State, Spokesman of the Government (under Fillon)
- Éric Besson - Secretary of State for Economic Prospective and Evaluation of Public Policies (under Fillon)
- Valérie Létard - Secretary of State for Solidarity (under Bertrand)
- Dominique Bussereau - Secretary of State for Transport (under Borloo)
- Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet - Secretary of State for Ecology (under Borloo)
- Christian Estrosi - Secretary of State for Overseas (under Alliot-Marie)
- André Santini - Secretary of State for Civil Servants (under Wœrth)
- Jean-Marie Bockel - Secretary of State for Cooperation and Francophony (under Kouchner)
- Hervé Novelli - Secretary of State for Companies and Foreign Commerce (under Lagarde)
- Fadela Amara - Secretary of State for Urban Policies (under Boutin)
- Alain Marleix - Secretary of State for Veterans (under Morin)
- Rama Yade - Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Human Rights (under Kouchner)
- Luc Chatel - Secretary of State for Consumer affairs and Tourism (under Lagarde)
- Bernard Laporte - Secretary of State for Sport (under Bachelot-Narquin)
High Commissioner
- Martin Hirsch - High Commissioner for Active Solidarities against Poverty
Shuffles
Appointment of Secretary of State for Sport
22 October 2007[12]
- Bernard Laporte is appointed Secretary of State for Sport (under Bachelot-Narquin)
After Municipal Elections of 2008
18 March 2008[13]
There was a shuffle of the secretaries of state following the municipal elections of 16 March 2008.
New Secretaries of State
- Yves Jégo is appointed Secretary of State for Overseas (under Alliot-Marie) to replace Christian Estrosi
- Hubert Falco is appointed Secretary of State for development of the territory (under Borloo)
- Nadine Morano is appointed Secretary of State for Family (under Bertrand)
- Christian Blanc is appointed Secretary of State for the development of the «Région Capitale» (Region of Paris) (under Borloo).
- Anne-Marie Idrac is appointed Secretary of State for Foreign Commerce (under Lagarde).
- Alain Joyandet is appointed Secretary of State for Cooperation and Francophony to replace Jean-Marie Bockel (under Kouchner).
Changes of attributions - Ministers
- Jean-Louis Borloo - formerly Minister of State, Minister of Ecology and Sustainable Development and Planning becomes Minister of State, Minister of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Planning.
- Christine Lagarde - formerly Minister of the Economy, Finance and Employment becomes Minister of the Economy, Industry and Employment.
- Brice Hortefeux - formerly Minister of Immigration, Integration, National identity and Co-development becomes Minister of Immigration, Integration, National identity and Solidary development.
- Xavier Bertrand - formerly Minister of Labour, Social Relations and Solidarity becomes Minister of Labour, Social Relations, Family and Solidarity.
- Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin - formerly Minister of Health, Youth Affairs and Sport becomes Minister of Health, Youth Affairs, Sport and Associations.
Changes of attributions - Secretaries of State
- Laurent Wauquiez formerly Spokesman of the Government, is appointed Secretary of State for Employment (under Lagarde).
- Luc Chatel formerly Secretary of State for Consumer affairs and Tourism is appointed Secretary of State for Consumer affairs and Industry, Spokesman of the Government (under Lagarde).
- Éric Besson - Secretary of State for Economic Prospective and Evaluation of Public Policies is now also in charge of the Development of digital economy (under Fillon).
- Jean-Marie Bockel - formerly Secretary of State for Cooperation and Francophony (under Kouchner), becomes Secretary of State for Defense and Veterans (under Morin).
- Alain Marleix - formerly Secretary of State for Veterans (under Morin) becomes Secretary of State for Local Collectivities (under Alliot-Marie).
- Bernard Laporte - formerly Secretary of State for Sport becomes Secretary of State for Sport, Youth and Associations (under Bachelot-Narquin).
- Hervé Novelli - formerly Secretary of State for Companies and Foreign Commerce (under Lagarde) becomes Secretary of State for commerce, craft, small and medium companies, tourism and services (under Lagarde).
Awards and honours
References
External links
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