Alain Barrau (17 February 1947 – 24 July 2021) was a French politician. He was a member of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

(PS).

Biography

Professional career

Barrau served as student council president at

Sciences Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , a ...

during the

May 68 Beginning in May 1968, a period of civil unrest occurred throughout France, lasting some seven weeks and punctuated by demonstrations, general strikes, as well as the occupation of universities and factories. At the height of events, which h ...

events. He graduated in 1969 and became an assistant at Panthéon-Sorbonne University. He subsequently became director of teaching at the Centre national d'information pour le progrès économique. He held several administrative positions linked to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, and was appointed its Director of the Information Office for France in 2008.

Political career

Barrau was elected to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

in 1986 in a system of

party-list proportional representation Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...

. in 1988, the system changed to a regional vote, and he began to represent

Hérault's 6th constituency The 6th constituency of Hérault is a French legislative Constituency (France), constituency in the Hérault departments of France, ''département'', in the city of Béziers. Deputies Election results 2022 , - , colspan="8" ...

. Although he was defeated by

Raymond Couderc Raymond Couderc (born 16 September 1946 in Bordeaux) is a French politician, and a former member of the Senate of France, who represented the Department of Hérault. He is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement, which is a part of the E ...

in 1993, he was victorious in 1997. In his final term in office, he served on various committees, such as the Cultural, Family and Social Affairs Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Finance Committee. He served as President of the National Assembly delegation to European communities from 1999 to 2002. Barrau was also

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Béziers from 1989 to 1995 and was General Councilor of the Canton of Béziers-2 from 1988 to 1989.

Other activities

From 1974 to 1986, Barrau was President of the Comité national des associations de jeunesse et d’éducation populaire and was a member of the Conseil national de la vie associative et du Conseil économique et social. He also served as President of and was Vice-President of the .

Death

Alain Barrau died in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

on 24 July 2021 at the age of 74 following a battle with cerebrovascular disease.

Decorations

*Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

(2017)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barrau, Alain 1947 births 2021 deaths Politicians from Paris Socialist Party (France) politicians Deputies of the 8th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 9th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 11th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Members of Parliament for Hérault French general councillors Mayors of places in Occitania (administrative region) Sciences Po alumni Academic staff of Pantheon-Sorbonne University Knights of the Legion of Honour Deaths from cerebrovascular disease