Claude Goasguen (12 March 1945 – 28 May 2020) was a French politician who served as a

member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of 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 ...

for

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

from 1993 to 1995 and again from 1997 until his death in 2020. A member of The Republicans, he also briefly was Minister of Reform of the State, Decentralisation and Citizenship in 1995 under

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

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

Biography

Early years

Claude Goasguen was born in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

Var Var or VAR may refer to: Places * Var (department), a department of France * Var (river), France * Vār, Iran, village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Var, Iran (disambiguation), other places in Iran * Vár, a village in Obreja commune, Ca ...

. He received a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

from Panthéon-Assas University. From 1976 to 1986, he taught at

Paris 13 University Sorbonne Paris North University (french: Université Sorbonne Paris Nord) is a public university based in Paris, France. It is one of the thirteen universities that succeeded the University of Paris in 1968. It is a multidisciplinary university l ...

, and he served as the Dean of the Law School from 1982 to 1984. From 1986 to 1988, he served as advisor to the Minister of National Education,

René Monory René Monory (6 June 1923 – 11 April 2009) was a French centre-right Gaullist politician. Biography René Monory was born in Loudun and began his career as the owner of a garage. He was the founder of the Poitiers Futuroscope. Monory firs ...

, with regards to the links between universities and the private sector, and professional training. From December 1987 to January 1991, he served as university

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

Cabinet member

From May to November 1995, he was Minister of State Reforms, Decentralisation and Citizenship. From April 1996 to May 1998, he was the General Secretary of the now defunct UDF, and from June 1998 to April 2002, he was vice-president and spokesperson of the defunct

Liberal Democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...

. Since 2003, he has also worked as a lawyer in

. He was well known for his controversial comments on the

Palestinian people Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

and on the Muslim community living in France. Goasguen was a vigorous supporter of oppressed Christian minorities in the Near East and has spoken prominently at public meetings concerning them in Autumn 2015. He was a recipient 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 ...

. He died on 28 May 2020 in

Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cat ...

at the age of 75 from a heart attack after having contracted

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

earlier in March during the COVID-19 pandemic in France. He was replaced in the Assembly by Sandra Boëlle.

References

1945 births 2020 deaths Politicians from Toulon French people of Breton descent 20th-century French lawyers Politicians from Paris Mayors of arrondissements of Paris Union for French Democracy politicians Centre of Social Democrats politicians Liberal Democracy (France) politicians Union for a Popular Movement politicians The Republicans (France) politicians Deputies of the 10th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 11th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 12th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 13th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 14th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 15th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Government ministers of France Lycée Henri-IV alumni Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni Academic staff of Sorbonne Paris North University Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Councillors of Paris Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in France Burials at Passy Cemetery Members of Parliament for Paris {{France-politician-UMP-stub