Charles Victor Pasqua (18 April 192729 June 2015) was a French businessman and Gaullist politician. He was

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

from 1986 to 1988, under Jacques Chirac's '' cohabitation'' government, and also from 1993 to 1995, under the government of Edouard Balladur.

Early life and family background

Pasqua was born on 18 April 1927 in Grasse, Alpes-Maritimes.L'ancien ministre Charles Pasqua est mort à l'âge de 88 ans
''Libération'', 29 June 2015 His paternal grandfather was a shepherd from

Casevecchie Casevecchie is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 ...

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

Mort de Charles Pasqua, gaulliste et ancien premier flic de France
, ''Corse Matin'', 30 June 2015
, ''Corse Matin'', 30 June 2015 and he could speak Corsican fluently.Raphaëlle Bacqué
Mort de Charles Pasqua, un homme qui faisait « peur et rire tout à la fois »
''Le Monde'', 29 June 2015 As of 1987, his cousin served as the Mayor of Casevecchie. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Pasqua joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

at the age of sixteen. Pasqua received his

Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

, followed by a degree in Law.

Business career

From 1952 to 1971 he worked for Ricard, a producer of alcoholic beverages (most notably

pastis Pastis (; oc, Pastís, ; or ) is an anise-flavoured spirit and apéritif traditionally from France, typically containing less than 100 g/L sugar and 40–45% ABV (alcohol by volume). Origins Pastis was first commercialized by Paul Ricard i ...

), starting as a salesman.The Power Broker in France's Election / Interior Minister Pasqua embodies nation's social divide
''The San Francisco Chronicle'', 21 April 1995 In 1971, Pasqua founded Euralim, also known as Europe-Alimentation, an importer of Americano, a cocktail made by the Italian company

Gancia Gancia is an Italian wine-making company which produces a broad range of sparkling and still wines from the Piedmont region. History The company was founded in 1850 in Turin by Carlo Gancia. Carlo Gancia is known as the father of Italian spark ...

.Quand les RG scrutaient Pasqua chez Ricard
''Le Nouvel Observateur'', 23 January 2002

Politics

In 1947, he helped create the section of the Gaullist Party RPF movement for the

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; oc, Aups Maritims; it, Alpi Marittime, "Maritime Alps") is a department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the Italian border and Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, ...

. With Jacques Foccart and Achille Peretti, he was the co-founder of the '' Service d'Action Civique'' (SAC) in 1959 to counter the terrorist actions of the OAS during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962). The SAC would be charged with the underground actions of the Gaullist movement and participated in the organization of the 30 May 1968 Gaullist counter- demonstration.Gilles Bresson
Un souverainiste déchu par sa droite
''Libération'', 11 January 2001 From 1968 to 1973, he was

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

to the

French National Assembly 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 kn ...

for the

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a département in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west ...

''département'' for the UDR party, of which he was a leading member from 1974 to 1976. He helped Jacques Chirac to take the lead of the party and participated in its transformation into the

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic (french: Rassemblement pour la République ; RPR ), was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 a ...

(RPR). Counsellor of Jacques Chirac alongside

Marie-France Garaud Marie-France Garaud (born 3 March 1934) is a French politician. She was a private advisor for President Pompidou and Jacques Chirac during his first time as Prime Minister. In the 1970s, she was considered to be the most influential woman of F ...

, he was in charge of the organisation of Chirac's campaign for the 1981 presidential election, won by the candidate 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 ...

(PS), François Mitterrand (1981–1995). As such, he is considered to be Chirac's mentor in politics. From 1981 to 1986 he was

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the Hauts-de-Seine, then president of the RPR group in the Senate. From 1986 to 1988 he was

(in charge of law enforcement). In 1992, he called a vote against the ratification of the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced "a new stage in the ...

. He became Interior Minister again from 1993 to 1995, and supported the candidacy of Edouard Balladur at the 1995 presidential election. He is mostly remembered for having pushed a series of anti-immigration laws (lois Pasqua), and for his declaration "we will terrorize the terrorists." Pasqua headed the

Rally for France The Rally for France (french: Rassemblement pour la France (RPF); also briefly known in 2003 as Rally for France and European Independence or ) was a political party in France of the right. It was founded in 1999 by the Gaullist and former Interi ...

(RPF), a sovereigntist (

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies, and seek refor ...

) party, for a while in association with Philippe de Villiers. At the 1999 European Parliament election, their list got ahead of the RPR list. He served as the President of the General Council of the

from 1988 to 2004. In 2004, he was elected

by an electoral college. In 2008, Pasqua was convicted of illegal lobbying in the Mitterrand–Pasqua affair during his time serving as French Interior Minister. He was sentenced to a one-year jail term. In 2005, a US Senate report accused him, along with the British

Respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...

politician

George Galloway George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer who is currently leader of the Workers Party of Britain, serving since 2019. Between 1987 and 2010, and then between 2012 and 2015, Galloway was a Member o ...

, of receiving the right to buy oil under the UN's oil-for-food scheme. Pasqua denied the charges and pointed out that he never met Saddam Hussein, had never been to Iraq, and never cultivated any political ties with that country. In a lengthy written rebuttal to the Senate report, Charles Pasqua pointed out further that since the oil vouchers were lifted by a legal entity incorporated in a European country, it should be relatively easy for investigators to uncover the masterminds behind the fraud instead of making accusations based on "sensational" press articles.

Personal life and death

He was married to Jeanne Joly, from

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, Canada. They had a son, Pierre-Philippe Pasqua, who predeceased him, dying in February 2015. He died of a heart attack on 29 June 2015 at the

Foch Hospital Foch Hospital ( French: ''Hôpital Foch'') is a hospital in the Suresnes, France. It is part of the ''Établissement de santé privé d'intérêt collectif'' It was established in 1929 with the help of Consuelo Vanderbilt and Winnaretta Singer ...

in Suresnes, near Paris.Said Mahrane
Charles Pasqua est décédé des suites d'un accident cardiaque
''Le Point'', 29 June 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasqua, Charles 1927 births 2015 deaths People from Grasse French people of Corsican descent Politicians from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Rally of the French People politicians Union for the New Republic politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Rally for the Republic politicians French interior ministers Deputies of the 4th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic French Senators of the Fifth Republic Senators of Hauts-de-Seine Presidents of the General Council of Hauts-de-Seine Rally for France MEPs MEPs for France 1999–2004 Mitterrand–Pasqua affair French politicians convicted of crimes French Resistance members