Anne Hidalgo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anne Hidalgo
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Official portrait, 2014
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| Mayor of Paris | |
| Assumed office 5 April 2014 |
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| Deputy | Bruno Julliard Emmanuel Grégoire Patrick Bloche |
| Preceded by | Bertrand Delanoë |
| First Deputy Mayor of Paris | |
| In office 18 March 2001 – 5 April 2014 |
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| Mayor | Bertrand Delanoë |
| Preceded by | Jacques Dominati |
| Succeeded by | Bruno Julliard |
| Councillor of Paris | |
| Assumed office 9 March 2001 |
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| Constituency | 15th arrondissement (2001–2020) 11th arrondissement (2020–present) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ana María Hidalgo Aleu
19 June 1959 San Fernando, Andalusia, Spain |
| Citizenship |
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| Political party | Socialist Party |
| Spouses |
Philippe Jantet
(divorced)Jean-Marc Germain
(m. 2004) |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | Hôtel de Ville de Paris |
| Alma mater | Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 Paris West University Nanterre La Défense |
| Signature |  |
Anne Hidalgo (born Ana María Hidalgo Aleu on June 19, 1959) is a Spanish-French politician. She has been the Mayor of Paris since 2014 and was the first woman to ever hold this important job. She is a member of the Socialist Party in France.
Before becoming mayor, Hidalgo was the First Deputy Mayor of Paris from 2001 to 2014, working with Mayor Bertrand Delanoë. When he decided not to run for a third term, Hidalgo was elected to take his place.
During her time as mayor, she has focused on making Paris a greener city. She also helped the city recover from sad events like the 2015 terrorist attacks and the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2019.
Hidalgo was reelected in 2020. She led Paris through the COVID-19 pandemic and helped the city host the 2024 Summer Olympics. In 2022, she ran for President of France but did not win.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Growing Up in France
Anne Hidalgo was born in San Fernando, a town in Spain. Her grandfather was a Spanish Socialist who had to leave Spain after the Spanish Civil War. Her parents, Antonio and Maria, were also from Spain. They moved to France in 1961 to find better work.
The family settled in Lyon, France. Anne grew up speaking Spanish with her parents and French with her older sister. When she was 14, she and her parents became French citizens. Today, she has dual citizenship, meaning she is a citizen of both France and Spain.
University Studies
Hidalgo went to university to study law. She earned a master's degree in social law from Jean Moulin University Lyon 3. She then earned another advanced degree in social and union studies from Paris West University Nanterre La Défense.
Early Career
In 1984, at the age of 24, Hidalgo began working as a labor inspector. Her job was to make sure that workplaces followed the law and treated workers fairly. She later held several important roles in government offices, working for different ministers in the French government between 1997 and 2002.
Political Career in Paris
Deputy Mayor of Paris
Hidalgo's political career in Paris began in 2001. She was elected to the Council of Paris, which is like the city's government council. The new mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, chose her to be his First Deputy Mayor. This made her one of the most important leaders in the city.
As Deputy Mayor, she was in charge of issues like equality between men and women, and later, city planning and architecture. She worked closely with Mayor Delanoë for 13 years.
Becoming the Mayor of Paris
In 2012, Mayor Delanoë announced he would not run for reelection. Hidalgo decided to run for mayor in the 2014 election. She won the election on March 30, 2014, and officially became the first female Mayor of Paris on April 5, 2014.
As mayor, Hidalgo also became the President of the Departmental Council of Paris, because Paris is both a city and a department (a type of region in France).
In 2020, Hidalgo was reelected for a second term as mayor. Her campaign focused on making Paris a "15-minute city," where people could find everything they need within a short walk or bike ride from their homes.
Key Policies and Ideas
Protecting the Environment
One of Hidalgo's biggest goals is to fight air pollution and make Paris a more environmentally friendly city.
- Paris Breathes: In 2016, she started a program called Paris Respire ("Paris Breathes"). This program bans cars from certain areas of Paris on the first Sunday of every month.
- Fewer Cars, More Bikes: She has worked to reduce car traffic by turning parts of a highway along the Seine river into a park. She also added hundreds of kilometers of bike lanes, including temporary ones called "coronapistes" during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Greener Streets: In 2021, she announced a plan to redesign the famous Champs-Élysées avenue. The plan aims to cut car space in half and add more trees and green areas for people to enjoy.
The 15-Minute City
Hidalgo is a strong supporter of the "15-minute city" idea. This concept aims to change city life so that residents can get to work, school, shops, parks, and health centers within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. The goal is to make neighborhoods more self-sufficient and reduce the need for cars, which helps cut down on pollution and traffic.
2024 Summer Olympics
Hidalgo was a major leader in the effort to bring the 2024 Summer Olympics to Paris. She played a key role in organizing the event.
A big part of her plan was to clean up the Seine river so that swimming events could be held in it. To show the river was safe, she swam in the Seine herself on July 17, 2024. Although some events were affected by water quality issues, her efforts brought a lot of attention to cleaning up the city's famous river.
Personal Life
Anne Hidalgo is married to Jean-Marc Germain, another French politician. They have one son together, Arthur Germain. Arthur is famous for being the youngest French person to swim across the English Channel.
Hidalgo also has two older children from a previous marriage: a son named Matthieu and a daughter named Elsa. She was raised in a Catholic family but is now an atheist.
Awards and Honors
Hidalgo has received many awards from different countries for her work. Some of her honors include:
- Knight of the Legion of Honour (France, 2012)
- Commander of the Order of the Polar Star (Sweden, 2014)
- Dame Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (Spain, 2015)
- Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan, 2021)
In 2020, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
See also
In Spanish: Anne Hidalgo para niños
