Claude Allègre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Claude Allègre
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Claude Allègre in 2009
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| Minister of National Education | |
| In office 4 June 1997 – 28 March 2000 |
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| President | Jacques Chirac |
| Prime Minister | Lionel Jospin |
| Preceded by | François Bayrou |
| Succeeded by | Jack Lang |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Claude Jean Allègre
31 March 1937 Paris, France |
| Died | 4 January 2025 (aged 87) Paris, France |
| Political party | PS (1973–2008) |
| Education | Lycée Charlemagne |
Claude Allègre (born March 31, 1937 – died January 4, 2025) was a French politician and a well-known scientist. He was famous for his work in science and for serving as a government minister.
Scientific Work
Claude Allègre's main area of science was geochemistry. This field studies the chemistry of the Earth. It looks at how elements and chemicals move around in rocks and soil.
In 1974, he helped write a book called Introduction to Geochemistry. He also wrote many popular science books starting in the 1980s. These books helped explain science to a wider audience.
Allègre had a heart attack in 2013. He passed away in Paris on January 4, 2025, when he was 87 years old.
Political Career
Claude Allègre was a member of the French Socialist Party for a time. He is best known for his political roles.
He served as the Minister of Education for France. He held this position from June 4, 1997, to March 2000. During his time as minister, he made some changes to the education system. He also openly criticized teachers. These actions made him quite unpopular with many people working in schools.
In the lead-up to the 2007 French presidential election, Allègre supported different candidates. He first backed Lionel Jospin, then Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Later, he supported Jean-Pierre Chevènement. When Chevènement decided not to run, Allègre did not support Ségolène Royal. He disagreed with her views on topics like nuclear power, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), and stem-cell research. Later, he became close to the conservative president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Views on Climate Change
Claude Allègre had strong opinions about global warming, also known as climate change. He stated that the exact causes of climate change are not fully known.
This was a change from his earlier views. In 1987, he wrote that burning fossil fuels increased carbon dioxide in the air. He said this had raised the Earth's temperature.
In an article called "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," Allègre wrote about his views. He suggested that Antarctica gaining ice and Mount Kilimanjaro's snow melting could be natural events. He believed that the reasons for these climate changes were unknown.
Allègre also said that people who agreed with the main scientific view on global warming were motivated by money. He claimed that "the ecology of helpless protesting has become a very lucrative business for some people!" However, his own science institute received a lot of money from the oil industry.
In 2009, there was talk that Allègre might become a minister in President Nicolas Sarkozy's government. Nicolas Hulot, a TV presenter and environmental activist, spoke out. He said that Allègre's views were different from the 2,500 scientists of the IPCC. These scientists were warning the world about climate disaster. Hulot felt that if Allègre joined the government, it would send a bad message. He said it would be "a tragic signal" before the Copenhagen Conference.
In 2010, over 500 French researchers signed a petition. They asked the Science Minister to dismiss Allègre's book L'imposture climatique. They claimed the book had "factual mistakes, distortions of data, and plain lies." Allègre called the petition "useless and stupid."
Awards and Honors
Claude Allègre received many awards for his scientific work:
- National Academy of Sciences (Foreign Associate, 1985)
- V. M. Goldschmidt Award (1986)
- Crafoord Prize for geology (with Gerald J. Wasserburg, 1986)
- American Academy of Arts and Sciences (Foreign Honorary Member, 1987)
- Wollaston Medal of the Geological Society of London (1987)
- American Philosophical Society (Member, 1992)
- Gold Medal of the CNRS (1994)
- French Academy of Sciences (1995)
- William Bowie Medal (1995)
- Arthur Holmes Medal (1995)
See also
- Politics of France
