Jean Besson (born 1 July 1948 in

Valréas Valréas (; oc, Vauriàs) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. History The area around the town of Valréas is kno ...

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.French politician The politics of France take place with the framework of a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the French Fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic". ...

social-democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...

. He is married and father of three children. He was a French

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 1989 to 2014.

Biography

Jean BESSON, Honorary Senator, Honorary Member of the French Parliament, is currently the Chairman of “Energie SDED”, a public company dealing with energy distribution in the Drome County. He started his political career in 1977 as a

Deputy Mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected dep ...

of Valence (Drome). He was a “conseiller général” at the Drome General Council from 1979 to 2004. Jean Besson was French Senator for the Drome County during 25 years, elected for three consecutive terms in 1989, 1998 and 2008. Within the French Parliament, he was the President of the Friendship Group France-China for 16 years. From 2004 to 2010, as the Vice-President of the Rhone-Alps Regional Council in charge of European Affairs and International Relations, he reinforced the existing networks (e.g. “Four Motors for Europe” including Rhone-Alps, Catalonia, Lombardy, Baden-Württemberg) and interregional co-operations, notably with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

(Malopolska),

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 thirtee ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(Shanghai). He also established new partnerships with the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

(the State of Pennsylvania),

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

(the State of Parana),

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

(the State of Karnataka) and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

(the Provinces of Buenos Aires and Mendoza). Jean Besson was administrator of the national company "

Gaz de France Gaz de France (GDF) was a French company which produced, transported and sold natural gas around the world, especially in France, its main market. The company was also particularly active in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Germany, and other Europea ...

" (GDF) from 1999 to 2004, administrator of "

Institut français The Institut Français (French capitalization, Institut français; "French institute") is a French public industrial and commercial organization (EPIC). Started in 1907 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for promoting French, francophone as ...

" from 2011 to 2014, administrator of "Entreprise Rhône-Alpes International" (ERAI) from 2006 to 2015, President of "Rhône-Alpes Tourisme" from 2011 to 2016. In 1987, he was named Knight of the National Order of Merit and in 2015, he was named Knight of the "

Légion d'Honneur 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 is specialized in tourism, energy and international relations. Jean BESSON lives in Valence (Drome).

External links

Personal website

The French Senate
1948 births Living people People from Vaucluse Socialist Party (France) politicians French senators of the Fifth Republic Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Deputies of the 12th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Senators of Drôme {{France-politician-Socialist-stub