Laurent Timothée Marie Wauquiez (; born 12 April 1975) is a French politician who has presided over the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes since 2016. He is a member of The Republicans (LR), which he led from 2017 to 2019 following the resignation of Nicolas Sarkozy. Wauquiez was Secretary of State for European Affairs under the Foreign Minister

Alain Juppé Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans (France), The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced 1995 strikes ...

; and previously Secretary of State for Employment under the Minister of the Economy, Industry and Employment from March 2008 in

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 ...

's government. He also was Government Spokesman from June 2007 to March 2008 as Minister of State under the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. He was elected as 2nd Vice President of the ORU Fogar at the organisation's General Assembly held in Quito, Ecuador on 16 October 2016. On 10 December 2017, Wauquiez was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

to the presidency of The Republicans with 74% of the vote. Pundits have described him as moving the party to the right. On 2 June 2019, a week after overseeing the worst result for the right in its history in the European election with 8% of the vote, Wauquiez announced his resignation as party president.

Early life and education

Wauquiez graduated from the

École normale supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

and Université Panthéon-Sorbonne with a masters in history and studied public law at the

Institut d'études politiques de Paris , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

(Sciences Po); he later attended the

École nationale d'administration The École nationale d'administration (generally referred to as ENA, en, National School of Administration) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by President Charles de Gaulle and principal author of the 1958 Constitution Michel Deb ...

(ÉNA). He worked as professor at Emlyon Business School.

Political career

Wauquiez held several governmental positions over the course of Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency. He was named the Secretary of State for Employment in 2008 and also functioned as the government spokesman. He later served as Minister of European Affairs and of Higher Education. In 2012, he was re-elected to the National Assembly and became head of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in 2015. On 10 December 2017, Wauquiez was elected as the president of The Republicans, winning over Maël de Calan and

Florence Portelli Florence Portelli (born 23 March 1978 in Argenteuil) is a French politician who has been serving as Mayor of Taverny since 2014. She has also been a regional councillor of Île-de-France since 2015. A longtime member of The Republicans, Portelli ...

. During his time in office, he overrode party scepticism to appoint François-Xavier Bellamy to lead the LR list in the European elections. He resigned in June 2019, bowing to pressure to step down after a his party’s weak performance in the elections. In August 2021, Wauquiez announced his decision not to run as the Republicans’s candidate in the 2022 presidential election.Victor Mallet (27 August 2021)
Michel Barnier makes bid for French presidency
''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

''.

Personal life

Wauquiez is known for wearing a red

parka A parka or anorak is a type of coat with a hood, often lined with fur or faux fur. This kind of garment is a staple of Inuit clothing, traditionally made from caribou or seal skin, for hunting and kayaking in the frigid Arctic. Some Inuit ...

coat.

List of mandates and functions

Governmental functions

Minister of Higher Education and Research: 2011-2012 Minister for European Affairs: 2010-2011 Secretary of State to the Prime Minister, Government Spokesperson: 2007-2008 Secretary of State for Employment: 2008-2010

Electoral mandates

National Assembly of France

Member of the National Assembly of France for Haute-Loire's 1st constituency : 2004-2007 (He became secretary of State in 2007) / Since 2012. Elected in 2004 (by-election), reelected in 2007 and 2012.

Regional Council

President of the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes : since 2016

Municipal Council

Mayor of

Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its c ...

: 2008-2016 (Resignation). Reelected in 2014. Municipal councillor of

: 2008-2016 (Resignation). Reelected in 2014.

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

Official government profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wauquiez, Laurent 1975 births Living people Deputies of the 12th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 13th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 14th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Presidents of the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regional councillors of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes École Normale Supérieure alumni École nationale d'administration alumni Emlyon Business School faculty 21st-century French politicians Government ministers of France Government spokespersons of France Lycée Henri-IV alumni Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni Mayors of places in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Politicians from Lyon Sciences Po alumni Secretaries of State of France Union for a Popular Movement politicians The Republicans (France) politicians The Social Right Presidents of French regions and overseas collectivities French Roman Catholics