Charles Marie Philippe Millon (born 13 November 1945) is a French politician who served as

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

from 1995 to 1997 under Prime Minister

Alain Juppé Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced major strikes that paralysed the coun ...

. A former member of the

Union for French Democracy The Union for French Democracy (french: Union pour la démocratie française, UDF) was a centre to centre-right political party in France. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to c ...

(UDF), he represented

Ain Ain (, ; frp, En) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

in 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 repre ...

(1978–1995; 1997–2001), where he took the presidency of the UDF group over from

Jean-Claude Gaudin Jean-Claude Gaudin (; born 8 October 1939) is a French politician for The Republicans. He served as the Mayor of Marseille from 1995 to 2020. He was a member of the National Assembly of France from Bouches-du-Rhône from 1978 to 1989 and has be ...

from 1989 until 1995. Millon also held the mayorship of his native town of

Belley Belley () is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France. History Belley is of Roman origin, and in the 5th century became an episcopal see. It was the capital of the province of Bugey, which was a dependency of Savoy till 1601, when i ...

from 1977 to 2001 and presidency of the Regional Council of Rhône-Alpes from 1988 to 1999. As Defence Minister, Millon led the highly sensitive 1997 reform on the professionalisation of the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (french: Forces armées françaises) encompass the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force and the Gendarmerie of the French Republic. The President of France heads the armed forces as Chief of the Armed Forces. Franc ...

, which had been decided the year prior by President

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

in order to abolish the

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

. In 1998, to retain the presidency of the regional council, Millon agreed on being elected with votes from

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated fro ...

's National Front (FN) and was subsequently expelled from the UDF. He then created his own party, The Right (LD), aiming at federating French liberals and conservatives, which met limited success. Millon ran in

2001 French municipal elections Municipal elections were held in France on 11 and 18 March 2001. These elections were marked by a setback for the left and a victory for the right one year before the 2002 presidential election. However, the capital, Paris and the second larges ...

for

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 ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

and served one term as a municipal councillor for the 3rd arrondissement. He was nominated in 2003 as France's ambassador to the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(FAO) in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where he advocated for African development. He retained the position until 2007.

Political career

; Governmental functions * Minister of Defence: 1995–1997 ; Electoral mandates ; National Assembly of France * President of the

Group in the National Assembly: 1989–1995 (became minister in 1995). Elected in 1989, reelected in 1993. * Vice-president of the National Assembly: 1986–1988. * Member of the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...

for

: 1978–1995 (became minister in 1995), 1997–2001 (resignation). Elected in 1978, reelected in 1981, 1986, 1988, 1993, and 1997. ; Regional Council * President of the Regional Council of Rhône-Alpes: 1988–1999 (resignation). Reelected in 1992 and 1998. * Regional councillor of Rhône-Alpes: 1978–2003 (resignation). Elected in 1986, reelected in 1992 and 1998. ; General Council * General councillor of

: 1985–1988 (resignation). ;

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

: 1977–2001. Reelected in 1983, 1989, and 1995. * Municipal councillor of

: 2001–2008. ; Urban Community Council * Member of the

Urban Community of Lyon The Urban Community of Lyon (french: Urban communities in France, Communauté urbaine de Lyon), also known as Grand Lyon (i.e. "Greater Lyon") or by its former acronym COURLY, is the former intercommunality, intercommunal structure gathering the ci ...

: 2001–2008.

References

1945 births Living people People from Belley Union for French Democracy politicians Republican Party (France) politicians Right-wing politicians in France French Ministers of Defence Deputies for Ain (French Fifth Republic) {{Ain-politician-stub