Michel Jobert (; 11 September 1921 – 25 May 2002) was a French politician of the left-wing
Gaullist
Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle with ...
orientation. He served as
Minister of Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...
under
Georges Pompidou
Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou ( , ; 5 July 19112 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He previously was Prime Minister of France of President Charles de Gaulle from 1962 to 196 ...
, and as
Minister of External Commerce under
François Mitterrand.
His tenure was marked, in part, by tense relations with the United States as he pursued French independence in the sphere of foreign relations. This policy at one point led a frustrated
Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
to call him "an idiot" and a "bad" foreign minister. Jobert died on 25 May 2002 in Paris, aged 80.
References
1921 births
2002 deaths
French Foreign Ministers
Politicians of the French Fifth Republic
Sciences Po alumni
École nationale d'administration alumni
People from Meknes
Member of the Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco
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