Nadine Morano (; born 6 November 1963 in Nancy) is a French politician of the Republicans who has been serving as
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
since 2014. She previously was a member of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
and a minister.
Early life
Morano was born on 6 November 1963 in Nancy, France. Her father was a truck driver. Her mother, Monique Generelli, was a switchboard operator, daughter of a
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola (Italian: ''Provincia del Verbano Cusio Ossola'' ) is the northernmost province in the Italian region of Piedmont. It was created in 1992 through the fusion of three geographical areas which had previously been part of the Pr ...
.
Political career
Morano served as a member of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
from 2002 to 2008, representing
Meurthe-et-Moselle
Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019. In parliament, she was a member of the Committee on Cultural Affairs (2002-2007) and the Defense Committee (2007-2008).
Morano served as the Deputy Minister for Apprenticeship and Vocational Training under the
Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...
, Employment and Health,
Xavier Bertrand
Xavier Bertrand (; born 21 March 1965) is a French politician who has been serving as president of the regional council of Hauts-de-France since the 2015 regional elections.
Earlier in his career, Bertrand was Minister of Health from 2005 to 2 ...
. She was previously Secretary of State for Family in the government of
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 ...
on 18 March 2008.
Morano was elected
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
in the
2014 European elections
Fourteen or 14 may refer to:
* 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15
* one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014
Music
* 14th (band), a British electronic music duo
* ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013
*''14'', an unrel ...
, representing East France. She has since been serving on the
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) is a committee of the European Parliament. Its areas of responsibility relate to industry, especially technology-intensive manufacturing, information technology, and telecommunications. It also ...
. In addition to her committee assignments, she is a member of the Parliament's delegation for relations with the
Pan-African Parliament
The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...
(PAP).
Ahead of the
2015 French regional elections
Regional elections were held in France on 6 and 13 December 2015. At stake were the regional councils in metropolitan and overseas France including the Corsican Assembly and inaugural seats in the Assembly of French Guiana and Assembly of Martin ...
removed Morano – then considered one of his staunchest allies – from the party's list after she state that France was a "white race" country that must stay that way.
Later that year, Morano announced her intention to compete for a presidential nomination in the Republicans' primaries for the 2017 presidential elections. She later supported
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 ...
as her party's candidate before urging him to withdraw his bid amid the so-called
Fillon affair
The Fillon affair (also the Penelope Fillon affair or Penelopegate) is a political-financial scandal involving allegations that members of the immediate family of French politician François Fillon were given paid jobs that involved no or very lit ...
Michel Barnier
Michel Barnier (born 9 January 1951) is a French politician who served as the European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom (UK Task Force/UKTF) from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as Chief Negotiator, Task ...
as the Republicans' candidate.
Controversy
Morano is a frequent user of
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
whose outspoken style and running commentary are a frequent source of mockery. French daily ''
Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' has created a web page, dubbed the "Moranator," that generates real phrases the politician has used and allows visitors to post them to their
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
(the former UMP) list for the regional elections in Meurthe-et-Moselle.
In 2019, Morano faced allegations of
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
when she criticized the way government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye dressed as "circus clothes", adding that Ndiaye became a French citizen "only" three years before, "clearly with big gaps over French culture, unworthy of her government post".
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...
at the time, called on Morano to withdraw her comments and apologize or be prosecuted.
In 2020, Morano stated that French actress Aïssa Maïga, who was born in
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
" if she "was not happy with seeing so many white people in France".
Personal life
Morano has been divorced; she has two sons and a daughter.