This page is a list of French education ministers. A governmental position overseeing public education was first created in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1802. Following the various regime changes in France in the first decades of the 19th century, the position changed official status and name a number of times before the position of Minister of Public Instruction was created in 1828. For much of its history, the position was combined with that of

Minister of Public Worship The Minister of Worship (or "Minister of Public Worship", or "Minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs") was a cabinet member in the Government of France responsible for overseeing the French government's relationship with religions. An area of parti ...

, who dealt with issues related to the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, except in instances where the Minister of Public Instruction was a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. The position has also occasionally been combined with

Minister of Sports A minister of sport (or sports minister) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with sports. Minister of Sport may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism and Sports (Argentina) * Minister for Sport (Australia) * Minist ...

and Minister of Youth Affairs. In 1932, the office's title was changed to Minister of National Education, although it was briefly changed back in 1940–1941, and was renamed Minister of Education during the Presidency of

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...

(1974–1981).

Administrators (various titles) of Public Instruction or the University, 1802–1828

Ministers of Public Instruction, 1828–1932

Ministers of National Education, 1932–present

{, class="wikitable" , - !Minister !Began !Ended , - ,

Anatole de Monzie Anatole de Monzie (22 November 1876, Bazas, Gironde – 11 January 1947, Paris) was a French administrator, encyclopaedist ('' Encyclopédie française''), political figure and scholar. His father was a tax collector in Bazas, Gironde whe ...

, 3 June 1932 , 30 January 1934 , - , Aimé Berthod , 30 January 1934 , 8 November 1934 , - ,

André Mallarmé André Mallarmé (6 August 1877 – 8 April 1956) was a French politician. Mallarmé was born in Bouzaréah, Algeria. He represented the Republican-Socialist Party from 1924 to 1928 and the Independent Radicals from 1928 to 1939 in the Chamber o ...

, 8 November 1934 , 1 June 1935 , - ,

Mario Roustan Marius Roustan, also known as Mario Roustan, (1870–1942) was a French politician. He served as a member of the French Senate from 1920 to 1941, representing Hérault Hérault (; oc, Erau, ) is a department of the region of Occitania, Southe ...

, 1 June 1935 , 7 June 1935 , - , Philippe Marcombes , 7 June 1935 , 13 June 1935 , - ,

, 17 June 1935 , 24 January 1936 , - ,

Henri Guernut Henri Guernut was a French politician born on 2 November 1876 in Lavaqueresse in the Aisne and died 28 May 1943 in Paris. Biography Early life His parents were peasants in Thiérache. Henri got the attention of his teacher and was sent to t ...

, 24 January 1936 , 4 June 1936 , - ,

Jean Zay Jean Élie Paul Zay (6 August 1904 – 20 June 1944) was a French politician. He served as Minister of National Education and Fine Arts from 1936 until 1939. He was imprisoned by the Vichy government from August 1940 until he was murdered in 19 ...

, 4 June 1936 , 10 September 1939 , - , Yvon Delbos , 13 September 1939 , 21 March 1940 , - ,

Albert Sarraut Albert-Pierre Sarraut (; 28 July 1872 – 26 November 1962) was a French Radical politician, twice Prime Minister during the Third Republic. Biography Sarraut was born on 28 July 1872 in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. On 14 March 1907 Sarraut, ...

, 21 March 1940 , 5 June 1940 , - , Yvon Delbos , 5 June 1940 , 16 June 1940 , - ,

Albert Rivaud Albert Rivaud (; 14 May 1876 – 15 September 1955) was a French philosopher and classical scholar. In 1908 he was appointed professor of philosophy at the University of Poitiers. In 1927 he succeeded Léon Brunschvicg as professor of philosophy ...

, 16 June 1940 , 12 July 1940 , - ,

Émile Mireaux Émile Mireaux (21 August 1885 – 27 December 1969) was a French economist, journalist, politician and literary historian. In the 1930s he edited ''Le Temps'' and contributed to other right-leaning journals. He became a senator in 1936, and briefl ...

(Minister of Public Instruction) , 12 July 1940 , 6 September 1940 , - ,

Georges Ripert Georges Ripert (22 April 1880 – 4 July 1958) was a lawyer who was briefly Secretary of State for Public Instruction and Youth in the Vichy Regime. Early career Ripert received his agrégation in 1906 from the Faculty of Law of Aix. He taught M ...

(Minister of Public Instruction) , 6 September 1940 , 13 December 1940 , - ,

Jacques Chevalier Jacques Chevalier (13 March 1882 – 19 April 1962) was a French Catholic philosopher and a politician. Chevalier was born in Cérilly, Allier, educated at the École normale supérieure and the University of Oxford and taught at the Faculty of ...

(Minister of Public Instruction) , 13 December 1940 , 23 February 1941 , - ,

Jérôme Carcopino Jérôme Carcopino (27 June 1881 – 17 March 1970) was a French historian and author. He was the fifteenth member elected to occupy seat 3 of the Académie française, in 1955. Biography Carcopino was born at Verneuil-sur-Avre, Eure, son of a d ...

, 25 February 1941 , 18 April 1942 , - , Abel Bonnard , 18 April 1942 , 19 August 1944 , - ,

René Capitant René Marie Alphonse Charles Capitant (19 August 1901 in La Tronche, Isère – 23 May 1970 in Suresnes) was a French lawyer and politician. He was the son of a lawyer, Henri Capitant, and attended the Lycée Henri-IV in Paris. He received h ...

, 19 August 1944 , 21 November 1945 , - ,

Paul Giacobbi Paul Giacobbi (born 4 June 1957 in Courbevoie, Hauts-de-Seine) was a member of the National Assembly of France until he retired at the 2017 Parliamentary Elections. He represented the 2nd constituency of the Haute-Corse department, and is a ...

, 21 November 1945 , 26 January 1946 , - ,

Marcel Edmond Naegelen Marcel-Edmond Naegelen (17 January 1892, Belfort – 15 April 1978, Paris) was a French politician. He represented the French Section of the Workers' International (SFIO) in the Constituent Assembly elected in 1945, in the Constituent Assembly e ...

, 26 January 1946 , 12 February 1948 , - ,

Édouard Depreux Édouard Gustave Depreux (31 October 1898 – 16 October 1981) was a French socialist journalist, essayist, and politician of the French Fourth Republic; he was born in Viesly (''département'' of Nord) and died in Paris. Early career Born ...

, 12 February 1948 , 26 July 1948 , - , Yvon Delbos , 26 July 1948 , 5 September 1948 , - ,

Michel Tony-Révillon Michel Tony-Révillon (24 April 1891 in Paris – 11 January 1957) was a French politician. He represented the Radical Party in the Chamber of Deputies from 1932 to 1935, in the Senate from 1935 to 1940, in the Constituent Assembly elected in ...

, 5 September 1948 , 11 September 1948 , - , Yvon Delbos , 11 September 1948 , 2 July 1950 , - ,

André Morice André Morice (11 October 1900, Nantes – 17 January 1990) was a French politician. He represented the Radical Party in the Constituent Assembly elected in 1945, in the Constituent Assembly elected in 1946 and in the National Assembly from 1946 ...

, 2 July 1950 , 12 July 1950 , - ,

Pierre-Olivier Lapie Pierre-Olivier Lapie (2 April 1901 – 10 March 1994) was a French lawyer, politician, writer, and freedom fighter. In 1936, Lapie was elected deputy under the Popular Front but was mobilized into service at the outbreak of World War II i ...

, 12 July 1950 , 11 August 1952 , - ,

André Marie André Marie (3 December 1897 – 12 June 1974) was a French Radical politician who served as Prime Minister during the Fourth Republic in 1948. Biography Born at Honfleur, Calvados, the young André Marie studied at primary and second ...

, 11 August 1952 , 19 June 1954 , - ,

Jean Berthoin Jean Berthoin (January 12, 1895 in Enghien-les-Bains, Val-d'Oise – February 25, 1979 in Paris) was a French politician. As Minister of National Education under Charles de Gaulle, he instituted a policy of compulsory education for all children, ...

, 19 June 1954 , 1 February 1956 , - ,

René Billères René Billères (29 August 1910 in Ger, Hautes-Pyrénées – 2 October 2004 in Lourdes, Hautes-Pyrénées) was a French politician. Billères served as a Radical deputy for the Hautes-Pyrénées from 1946 till 1973 and Senator for the same dep ...

, 1 February 1956 , 14 May 1958 , - ,

Jacques Bordeneuve Jacques Bordeneuve (28 August 1908 Sainte-Livrade-sur-Lot – 31 January 1981 Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French politician. He served as the state secretary for art and literature and as a senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often ...

, 14 May 1958 , 1 June 1958 , - ,

, 1 June 1958 , 8 January 1959 , - ,

André Boulloche André Boulloche (7 September 1915 – 16 March 1978) was a French politician who belonged to 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 ...

, 8 January 1959 , 23 December 1959 , - , Michel Debré , 23 December 1959 , 15 January 1960 , - ,

Louis Joxe Louis Joxe (16 September 1901 – 6 April 1991) was a French statesman, judge and politician. He was born in Bourg-la-Reine, Hauts-de-Seine. Career * Ambassador of France to the USSR (1952–1955) * Ambassador of France to the Federal Republi ...

, 15 January 1960 , 23 November 1960 , - ,

Pierre Guillaumat Pierre Guillaumat (5 August 1909 – 28 August 1991) was a Minister of National Education and Minister of the Armies under French President Charles de Gaulle and founder of the Elf Aquitaine oil company in 1967. He was born in La Flèche, Sa ...

, 23 November 1960 , 20 February 1961 , - ,

Lucien Paye Lucien Paye (born in Vernoil-le-Fourrier, Maine-et-Loire on 28 June 1907 – died on 25 April 1972) was a French politician. He was doctor of letters. He was Minister of National Education from 20 February 1961 to 15 April 1962 in the Governmen ...

, 20 February 1961 , 15 April 1962 , - ,

Pierre Sudreau Pierre Sudreau (13 May 1919 – 22 January 2012) was a French politician. His childhood correspondence with Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900–1944) helped inspire the title character of the 1943 novel ''The Little Prince''. Biography Sudr ...

, 15 April 1962 , 15 October 1962 , - ,

, 15 October 1962 , 28 November 1962 , - ,

Christian Fouchet Christian Fouchet (17 November 1911 – 11 August 1974) was a French politician. Biography He was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Yvelines. He was a graduate of the Ecole des sciences politiques. After Marshal Petain's request for an armistic ...

, 28 November 1962 , 6 April 1967 , - ,

Alain Peyrefitte Alain Peyrefitte (; 26 August 1925 – 27 November 1999) was a French scholar and politician. He was a confidant of Charles de Gaulle and had a long career in public service, serving as a diplomat in Germany and Poland. Peyrefitte is remembered ...

, 6 April 1967 , 30 May 1968 , - , François-Xavier Ortoli , 30 May 1968 , 10 July 1968 , - , Edgar Faure , 10 July 1968 , 23 June 1969 , - ,

Olivier Guichard Olivier Guichard (; 27 July 1920 – 20 January 2004) was a French politician. He was born in Néac and joined the French Army in 1944 and served until the end of World War II, during which, he earned the Médaille militaire and the Croix de ...

, 23 June 1969 , 7 July 1972 , - ,

Joseph Fontanet Joseph Fontanet (9 February 1921, Frontenex, Savoie – 2 February 1980, Paris) was a French politician. He was first elected to Parliament in 1956 as MP for Savoie Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ...

, 7 July 1972 , 28 May 1974 , - ,

René Haby René Haby (9 October 1919, in Dombasle-sur-Meurthe – 6 February 2003) was a French politician. He had been a prisoner of war during World War II. He was a member of the Union for French Democracy The Union for French Democracy (french: Union ...

(Minister of Education) , 28 May 1974 , 5 April 1978 , - ,

Christian Beullac Christian Beullac (29 November 1923 in Marseillan (Hérault) – 16 June 1986) was a French politician best known for leading the ministries of education and social affairs. Biography After secondary education in Nice and at the Champollion ' ...

(Minister of Education) , 5 April 1978 , 22 May 1981 , - ,

Alain Savary Alain Savary (25 April 191817 February 1988) was a French Socialist politician, deputy to the National Assembly of France during the Fourth and Fifth Republic, chairman of the Socialist Party (PS) and a government minister in the 1950s and i ...

, 22 May 1981 , 19 July 1984 , - ,

Jean-Pierre Chevènement Jean-Pierre Chevènement (; born 9 March 1939L ...

, 19 July 1984 , 20 March 1986 , - ,

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 first ...

, 20 March 1986 , 12 May 1988 , - , Lionel Jospin , 12 May 1988 , 2 April 1992 , - , Jack Lang , 2 April 1992 , 29 March 1993 , - ,

François Bayrou François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has presided over the Democratic Movement (MoDem) since he founded it in 2007. A centrist, he was a candidate in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 presidential elections. ...

, 29 March 1993 , 4 June 1997 , - ,

Claude Allègre Claude Allègre (; born 31 March 1937) is a French politician and scientist. Scientific work The main scientific area of Claude Allègre was geochemistry. Allègre co-authored an ''Introduction to geochemistry'' in 1974. Since the 1980s, he m ...

, 4 June 1997 , 28 March 2000 , - , Jack Lang , 28 March 2000 , 7 May 2002 , - ,

Luc Ferry Luc Ferry (; born 3 January 1951) is a French philosopher and politician, and a proponent of secular humanism. He is a former member of the Saint-Simon Foundation think-tank. Biography He received an Agrégation de philosophie (1975), a Docto ...

, 7 May 2002 , 31 March 2004 , - , François Fillon , 31 March 2004 , 2 June 2005 , - , Gilles de Robien , 2 June 2005 , 15 May 2007 , - ,

Xavier Darcos Xavier Darcos (born 14 July 1947) is a French politician, scholar, civil servant and former Minister of Labour. An ''agrégé'' professor in literature and general inspector of the National Education system, he has been Mayor of Périgueux, ...

, 18 May 2007 , 23 June 2009 , - ,

Luc Chatel Luc-Marie Chatel () (born on 15 August 1964 in Bethesda, Maryland, USA) is a French politician of the Republicans (LR) who served as Minister of National Education in the government of Prime Minister François Fillon from June 2009 to May 20 ...

, 23 June 2009 , 16 May 2012 , - ,

Vincent Peillon Vincent Benoît Camille Peillon (; born 7 July 1960) is a French politician who served as Minister for Education in the French Government. He is a longstanding French politician and, from 2014 until 2019, served as a Member of the European Parlia ...

, 16 May 2012 , 31 March 2014 , - , Benoît Hamon , 2 April 2014 , 25 August 2014 , - ,

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem Najat Vallaud-Belkacem (; ar, link=no, نجاة فالو بلقاسم; Riffian-Berber: ⵏⴰⵊⴰⵜ ⴱⵍⵇⴰⵙⵎ; born 4 October 1977) is a former Moroccan- French jurist and politician of the Socialist Party (PS) who was the first Fr ...

, 26 August 2014 , 17 May 2017 , - , Jean-Michel Blanquer , 17 May 2017 , 20 May 2022 , - ,

Pap Ndiaye Pap Ndiaye () is a French historian and government minister. He was a professor at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences and then, since 2012, at Sciences Po. Since 20 May 2022, he has served as Minister of National Education ...

, 20 May 2022 , present Education in France

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...