Jean-Claude Boulard (28 March 1943 – 1 June 2018) was a French politician. He was

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 ...

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

from 2001 until his death,

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 ...

from 2014 to 2017, and deputy of

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 ...

from 1988 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 2002.

Early life

Born in

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

on 28 March 1943, to artist Jean Boulard and his wife Marthe Savoyant-Boulard. His family moved to Saint-Marceau, Sarthe, and later

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 ...

. Boulard graduated from

Lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges (''lycées'') in France. The school educates more than ...

and attended

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

, where he studied sociology and ethnology.

Political career

Boulard was first appointed to the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

in 1968. Boulard worked for the French Merchant Navy, then returned to the Council of State. His first political office was deputy mayor of Saint-Marceau. He was elected to the Sarthe departmental council in 1976, and became president of

Le Mans Métropole The Communauté urbaine Le Mans Métropole is the '' communauté urbaine'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the city of Le Mans. It is located in the Sarthe department, in the Pays de la Loire region, northwestern France. It was created i ...

in 1983, representing 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 th ...

–

Radical Party of the Left The Radical Party of the Left (french: Parti radical de gauche, PRG) is a social-liberal political party in France. A party in the Radical tradition, since 1972 the PRG was a close ally of the major party of the centre-left in France, the Soc ...

coalition. Boulard won a seat on the

in 1988, but failed to win reelection in 1993. He returned to the Assembly in 1997, and served until 2002. Boulard supported minimum integration income during his first term, and was a proponent of

universal health coverage Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized a ...

in his second term. Boulard was first elected mayor of Le Mans in 2001. From 2014 to 2017, he sat on the

Senate 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 ...

, representing Sarthe. Boulard's wife Dominique served as mayor of Saint-Marceau.

Death

Boulard fell ill in early 2018, remaining mayor of

until his death in the city on 1 June 2018, aged 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boulard, Jean-Claude 1943 births 2018 deaths Politicians from Nantes Socialist Party (France) politicians Deputies of the 9th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 11th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic French Senators of the Fifth Republic Senators of Sarthe Mayors of places in Pays de la Loire People from Le Mans Sciences Po alumni