Marie-Luce Penchard (born 14 February 1959, in

Gourbeyre Gourbeyre is a commune in the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is a suburb of the city of Basse-Terre. The commune of Gourbeyre was in the past a pivotal point in the defense of Guadeloupe's Bas ...

) is a French politician from

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

and member of the UMP. She is the daughter of

Lucette Michaux-Chevry Lucette Michaux-Chevry (5 March 1929 – 9 September 2021)President of the Regional Council of Guadeloupe from 1992 until 2004.
Outremer: Marie-Luce Penchard va être promue ministre, annonce Sarkozy
, ''

Le Point ''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and news magazine published in Paris. History and profile ''Le Point'' was founded in September 1972 by a group of journalists who had, one year earlier, left the editorial team of '' L'Express'', w ...

'', 6 November 2009, retrieved 2011-07-23">
Marie-Luce Penchard. Une Ultramarine à l'Outre-mer
, ''

Le Télégramme ''Le Télégramme'' is a French-language daily newspaper from the Brittany region of France, based in the commune of Morlaix. It has been founded in 1944 and still exists to this day, although circulation is experiencing a decline since 2012. His ...

'', 25 June 2009, retrieved 2011-07-23 In 2009, the UMP selected her to lead their list in the

DOM-TOM Overseas France (french: France d'outre-mer) consists of 13 French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that chose to remain a part of the French state under various statuses after decolo ...

constituency ahead of the 2009 European elections. Despite her list being entitled to one seat, she was not elected due to a provision in the electoral law which splits the constituency into three sub-constituencies. As a result, she was not entitled to a seat in the Atlantic subsection, but

Maurice Ponga Maurice Ponga (born 5 June 1947 in Kouaoua, New Caledonia) is a French politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 until 2019. He was elected in the 2009 European election for the Overseas constituency. Politica ...

won the seat in the Pacific subsection. She was named Secretary of State for Overseas Territories in the

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 ...

government on 23 June 2009, becoming a minister in November that year. The nomination of a Guadeloupe native to this position is important since Guadeloupe was the epicentre of the 2009 French Caribbean general strikes. She is mayor of

Basse-Terre Basse-Terre (, ; ; gcf, label=Guadeloupean Creole, Bastè, ) is a commune in the French overseas department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles. It is also the ''prefecture'' (capital city) of Guadeloupe. The city of Basse-Terre is located ...

, the ''

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

'' of Guadeloupe, since May 2014."Penchard devient maire de Basse-Terre"
''Le Figaro'', 17 May 2014

Political career

Governmental functions Secretary of State for Overseas : June–November 2009. Minister in charge of Overseas : 2009–2012. Electoral mandate ''Regional Council'' Regional councillor of

: Since 2010.

References

Guadeloupean politicians French people of Guadeloupean descent Living people 1959 births Union for a Popular Movement politicians French Ministers of Overseas France 21st-century French women politicians Women government ministers of France Black French politicians Women mayors of places in France {{Guadeloupe-politician-stub