Michèle Alliot-Marie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michèle Alliot-Marie
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| Member of the European Parliament | |
| Assumed office 1 July 2014 |
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| In office 1 July 1989 – 22 May 1992 |
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| Constituency | East France |
| Minister of Foreign and European Affairs | |
| In office 14 November 2010 – 27 February 2011 |
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| Prime Minister | François Fillon |
| Preceded by | Bernard Kouchner |
| Succeeded by | Alain Juppé |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 23 June 2009 – 13 November 2010 |
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| Prime Minister | François Fillon |
| Preceded by | Rachida Dati |
| Succeeded by | Michel Mercier |
| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 18 May 2007 – 23 June 2009 |
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| Prime Minister | François Fillon |
| Preceded by | François Baroin |
| Succeeded by | Brice Hortefeux |
| Minister of Defence | |
| In office 7 May 2002 – 18 May 2007 |
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| Prime Minister | |
| Preceded by | Alain Richard |
| Succeeded by | Hervé Morin |
| Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports | |
| In office 29 March 1993 – 18 May 1995 |
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| Prime Minister | Édouard Balladur |
| Preceded by | Frédérique Bredin |
| Succeeded by | Guy Drut |
| Member of the National Assembly for Pyrénées-Atlantiques's 6th constituency |
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| In office 16 March 1986 – 1 May 1993 |
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| Succeeded by | Daniel Poulou |
| In office 17 September 1995 – 18 June 2002 |
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| Preceded by | Daniel Poulou |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Poulou |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Michèle Jeanne Honorine Alliot-Marie
10 September 1946 Villeneuve-le-Roi, France |
| Political party | Rally for the Republic (before 2002) Union for a Popular Movement (2002–2015) The Republicans (2015–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
European People's Party |
| Domestic partner | Patrick Ollier |
| Children | 3 |
| Education |
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Michèle Yvette Marie-Thérèse Jeanne Honorine Alliot-Marie (French pronunciation: [miʃɛl aljomaˈʁi]; born 10 September 1946), known in France as MAM, is a French politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from France. She is a member of the Republicans, part of the European People's Party. A member of all right-wing governments formed in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, she was the first woman in France to hold the portfolios of Defense (2002–2007), the Interior (2007–2009) and Foreign Affairs (2010–2011); she has also been in charge of Youth and Sports (1993–1995) and Justice (2009–2010), and was granted the honorary rank of Minister of State in her last two offices.
She resigned from government in 2011 due to her position during the Tunisian Revolution; one year later, in the 2012 French legislative elections, she lost her seat as Deputy (MP) for the 6th Constituency of Pyrénées-Atlantiques. She became a member of the European Parliament in 2014. She remains Deputy Mayor of Saint-Jean-de-Luz as well as Vice President of the National Council of The Republicans.
Alliot-Marie was the last President of the Rally for the Republic (1999–2002), an incarnation of the Gaullist party, and was the first woman to chair a major French political party. She has remained a leading Gaullist after the RPR merged into the UMP and was seen as a rival to Nicolas Sarkozy before and after his election as president in 2007, although direct confrontation was always avoided.
Alliot-Marie is a law and political science scholar. Her companion is Patrick Ollier, Minister in charge of Relations with Parliament in the Fillon II government; both were ministers simultaneously for a few months in 2010–2011, the first time a couple ever sat in a French government.
Contents
Early life
Michèle Marie was born on 10 September 1946 in Villeneuve-le-Roi (then in the Seine-et-Oise department, now in the Val-de-Marne department since 1968). Her father is Bernard Marie (1918-2015), who was a famous international rugby referee, the French National Assembly Deputy for the Pyrénées-Atlantiques' 4th constituency (1967-1981, department named Basses-Pyrénées until 1969), and the Mayor of Biarritz (1977-1991); and her mother is Renée Leyko and is of Polish descent.
She attended the High School of the Folie Saint James in Neuilly-sur-Seine and then began her studies at the Paris Law Faculty in the now-defunct University of Paris, continuing at the Paris Arts Faculty in that same university. After then-Education Minister Edgar Faure's university reforms (known as Loi Faure) were implemented in 1968, she continued her studies in private law, political science, and legal history at both Panthéon-Assas University, earning a Doctor of Law degree there in 1973 with her thesis Salarié actionnaire (English: "Employee Shareholders"), and Pantheon-Sorbonne University, where she earned a Doctorate in Political Science in 1982 and defended her thesis Décisions politiques et structures administratives (English: "Political Decisions and Administrative Structures"). During her university years, she was a member of the right-wing student union UNI.
She also holds a Certificat d'aptitude à la profession d'avocat (English: "Certificate of Aptitude for Practicing Law"), also known as a CAPA; a certificate in African laws and economics; and a master's degree in ethnology. Before her career in politics, she was a senior lecturer at the Paris-I University (Panthéon-Sorbonne), and also spent some time practicing law. She is also a recipient of the Faculty of Law and Economics.
Career
President of the RPR
In 1999, "MAM" entered the challenge for the presidency of the RPR against Chirac's candidate and, to most insiders' surprise, won by a landslide, becoming the first woman to lead a major French political party. She remained President of the party until 2002 when it merged with the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), a merger she opposed at first.
Defense ministership
Alliot-Marie was Minister of Defense during Jacques Chirac's second presidential term, France's first woman in this position. Between May and June 2002, she was also in charge of Veterans' Affairs. Forbes magazine declared her the 57th most powerful woman in the world in 2006 and the 11th in 2007. She kept the Defense portfolio in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's three governments and in Dominique de Villepin's government.
She remained a leading Gaullist after the RPR merger into the UMP, and created her own movement within the party, Le Chêne (The Oak). Although she publicly considered competing with Nicolas Sarkozy for the UMP nomination in the 2007 presidential election, she ruled herself out of the running in January 2007 and endorsed Sarkozy. Sarkozy and Alliot-Marie had a history of disagreements in the party's National Council.
Interior and Justice ministerships
After Sarkozy's election as president, Alliot-Marie was appointed Minister of the Interior, the Overseas and Local Communities in François Fillon's government, being the first woman to hold the position.
Two years later, after the 2009 European Parliament election, she was appointed Minister of Justice and Liberties and Keeper of the Seals and was bestowed the title of Minister of State, which gave her the most senior rank in the government after the Prime Minister. She was made a Vice President of the UMP the same year.
Foreign Affairs ministership
In November 2010, Alliot-Marie was appointed Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, remaining Minister of State and being again the first female holder of the office.
When civil unrest began in Tunisia in early 2011, Alliot-Marie came under scrutiny for going on vacation there during the events, as she had frequently done in the past. She further caused controversy when she told the National Assembly that French riot police could be offered to help restore order; she was specifically criticised for allegedly sending teargas to Tunisia as late as January 2011. Before leaving office, she proposed sending paratroopers to quell the protests.
Her situation embarrassing the government, she resigned as Foreign Minister on 27 February 2011 after only a few months in office. She was succeeded by outgoing Defense Minister and former Prime Minister Alain Juppé.
In the 2012 French legislative elections, she lost her seat as Deputy (MP) for the 6th constituency of Pyrénées-Atlantiques to Socialist Party candidate Sylviane Alaux in the second round, 48.38% to Alaux's 51.62% share of the vote.
Personal life
Michèle Marie married anthropologist Michel Alliot in 1971, taking the name Michèle Alliot-Marie. They divorced in 1984.
In the French media, she is nicknamed "MAM".
Since 1988, her life partner has been Patrick Ollier, who briefly served as President of the National Assembly in 2007 and subsequently chaired the Assembly's Economy Committee. In November 2010, he was appointed Minister in charge of Relations with Parliament in the Fillon II government. Both were ministers simultaneously for a few months in 2010–2011, the first time a couple ever sat in a French government. Due to her higher public profile, he has been nicknamed "Patrick Ollier-Marie" or "POM".
Decorations and distinctions
Decorations
- Commander of the Order of the Equatorial Star (Gabon)
- Commander of the Order of the Star of Anjouan (Comoros)
- Commander Order of Merit of National Education (Côte d'Ivoire)
- Officer of the Order of the Republic (Egypt)
- Palmes magistrales de 1re classe (Peru)
Distinctions
- Prix de la révélation politique de l'année (English: "Price for Political Revelation of the Year") 1999 - Trombinoscope - being elected as President of the Rally for the Republic party
- Ministre de l'année (English: "Minister of the Year") 2005 - Trombinoscope
Biography
See also
In Spanish: Michèle Alliot-Marie para niños
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