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 , 8 November 1934 , 1 June 1935 , - , Mario Roustan , 1 June 1935 , 7 June 1935 , - , Philippe Marcombes , 7 June 1935 , 13 June 1935 , - , Mario Roustan , 17 June 1935 , 24 January 1936 , - , Henri Guernut , 24 January 1936 , 4 June 1936 , - , Jean Zay , 4 June 1936 , 10 September 1939 , - ,

Yvon Delbos Yvon Delbos (7 May 1885 – 15 November 1956) was a French Radical-Socialist Party politician and minister. Delbos was born in Thonac, Dordogne, and entered a career as a journalist, and became a member of the Radical-Socialist Party. He sub ...

, 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 , - ,

, 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 (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 ...

, 25 February 1941 , 18 April 1942 , - ,

Abel Bonnard Abel Bonnard (19 December 1883 31 May 1968) was a French poet, novelist and politician. Biography Born in Poitiers, Vienne, his early education was in Marseilles with secondary studies at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris. A student of literatu ...

, 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 ...

, 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 , - ,

, 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 , - ,

, 11 September 1948 , 2 July 1950 , - , André Morice , 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 , 11 August 1952 , 19 June 1954 , - , Jean Berthoin , 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 , 14 May 1958 , 1 June 1958 , - , Jean Berthoin , 1 June 1958 , 8 January 1959 , - , André Boulloche , 8 January 1959 , 23 December 1959 , - ,

Michel Debré Michel Jean-Pierre Debré (; 15 January 1912 – 2 August 1996) was the first Prime Minister of the French Fifth Republic. He is considered the "father" of the current Constitution of France. He served under President Charles de Gaulle from 195 ...

, 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 ...

, 23 November 1960 , 20 February 1961 , - , Lucien Paye , 20 February 1961 , 15 April 1962 , - , Pierre Sudreau , 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 François-Xavier Ortoli (; 16 February 1925 – 30 November 2007) was a French politician who served as the 5th President of the European Commission from 1973 to 1977. He served as Minister of the Economy of France from 1968 to 1969. Ortoli ...

, 30 May 1968 , 10 July 1968 , - ,

Edgar Faure Edgar Jean Faure (; 18 August 1908 – 30 March 1988) was a French politician, lawyer, essayist, historian and memoirist who served as Prime Minister of France in 1952 and again between 1955 and 1956.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 g ...

, 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 (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 ...

, 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 firs ...

, 20 March 1986 , 12 May 1988 , - ,

Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and the party's candidate for President of France in ...

, 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 ...

, 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 D ...

, 7 May 2002 , 31 March 2004 , - ,

François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

, 31 March 2004 , 2 June 2005 , - ,

Gilles de Robien Le vicomte Gilles de Robien (; born 10 April 1941) is a French politician and former government minister. The son of Count Jean de Robien by his wife Éliane Le Mesre de Pas, he is descended from the noble Breton family de Robien. In 1989 ...

, 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 Benoît Hamon (; born 26 June 1967) is a French politician known for his former role within the Socialist Party (PS) and Party of European Socialists (PES) and his political party Génération.s. Hamon joined the Socialist Party in 1988 and ...

, 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 Fre ...

, 26 August 2014 , 17 May 2017 , - ,

Jean-Michel Blanquer Jean-Michel Blanquer (; born 4 December 1964) is a French jurist and government official serving as Minister of National Education under Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex from 2017 to 2022. Education and early career Born in ...

, 17 May 2017 , 20 May 2022 , - , Pap Ndiaye , 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 ...