Olivier Duhamel (born 2 May 1950) is a French former

university professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

.Sciences Po webpage
/ref> As a member of the social-democratic

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

, he was elected as a member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

from 1997 to 2004.European Parliament webpage
/ref> In 2021 he resigned from the FNSP and his academic position after being accused of the sexual abuse of a minor. In mid-April 2021, French media, citing sources close to the investigation, reported that Duhamel had admitted to sexually abusing his stepson.

Biography

Olivier Duhamel was born on 2 May 1950 in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

, France. He has taught at the

University of Franche-Comté The University of Franche-Comté (UFC) is a pluridisciplinary public French university located in Besançon, Franche-Comté, with decentralized campuses in Belfort, Montbéliard, Vesoul and Lons-le-Saunier. It is a founding member of the communi ...

Paris West University Nanterre La Défense Paris Nanterre University (French: ''Université Paris Nanterre''), formerly Paris-X and commonly referred to as Nanterre, is a public research university based in Nanterre, Paris, France. It is one of the most prestigious French universities, ma ...

, and the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. He was also a visiting professor at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. He is a faculty member of

Sciences Po , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public university, Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , a ...

, though he stopped teaching in 2010.France Culture webpage
/ref>Club des Juristes webpage
/ref> He was an advisor to the

Constitutional Council Constitutional Council might refer to: * Constitutional Council (Chad) * Constitutional Council (France) * Constitutional Council (Ivory Coast) * Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka) * Constitutional Council (Cambodia) * Constitutional Council (Kaz ...

from 1983 to 1995, and to

Georges Vedel Georges Vedel (5 July 1910 – 21 February 2002) was a French public law professor from Auch, France. Biography Vedel is credited as being "the reviser of public law n France" He was a faculty member of universities in Poitiers, Toulouse, an ...

in 1993 and

Édouard Balladur Édouard Balladur (; born 2 May 1929) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France under François Mitterrand from 29 March 1993 to 17 May 1995. He unsuccessfully ran for president in the 1995 French presidential election, comi ...

in 2007. He served as MEP from 1997 to 2004. He writes in the popular press for ''

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...

'' and '' Valeurs Actuelles''. He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of another publication, '' POUVOIRS''. He is an editor for the ''

European Constitutional Law Review European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

''. He also appears on

France Culture France Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. Its programming encompasses a wide variety of features on historical, philosophical, sociopolitical, and scientific themes (including debates, discussions, and documentari ...

, LCI, and

Europe 1 Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. Owned and operated by Lagardère Active, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it is one of the leading radio broadcasting stations in France and its pro ...

. He is the Vice-President of

Le Siècle ''Le Siècle'' ("''The Age''") is a daily newspaper that was published from 1836 to 1932 in France. History In 1836, ''Le Siècle'' was founded as a paper that supported constitutional monarchism. However, when the July Monarchy came to an end ...

.AFP, '"Le Siècle": Nicole Notat présidente', in ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

'', 12 November 201

/ref> He is also a member of the

Club des Juristes Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

, a legal

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

in France.

Accusation of incest and child abuse

In January 2021, he was accused by his stepdaughter Camille Kouchner in a book titled ''La Familia Grande'' of

sexually abusing Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...

her twin brother, Duhamel's stepson, when he was 13 in 1988: this offence is outside the

statute of limitation A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In mo ...

for criminal charges. He subsequently resigned from the FNSP, his academic, and media posts. Saying “Being the subject of personal attacks, and eager to protect the institutions I work for, I resign from ll of my positions" The allegations against him are said to have sparked an online movement of people speaking out about family abuse, and to have led to new laws toughening sexual assault laws against minors. On 5 January 2021, Paris prosecutors opened an investigation into the allegations. In mid-April 2021, French media, citing sources close to the investigation, reported that Duhamel had admitted to sexually abusing his stepson.

Bibliography

*''Chili ou la Tentative, Révolution/Légalité'' (Gallimard,1974) *''La Gauche et la Cinquième République'' (PUF, 1980) *''Dictionnaire des œuvres politiques'' (co-edited with François Châtelet and Évelyne Pisier, PUF, 1986) *''Dictionnaire constitutionnel'' (co-edited with Yves Mény, PUF, 1991) *''Las Democracias'' (co-edited with Manuel Cepeda, TM editors, Bogota) *''Démocratie, démocraties'' (co-edited with

Robert Darnton Robert Choate Darnton (born May 10, 1939) is an American cultural historian and academic librarian who specializes in 18th-century France. He was director of the Harvard University Library from 2007 to 2016. Life Darnton was born in New York ...

, Éditions du Rocher, 1999) *''Le quinquennat'' (Presses de Sciences Po, 2000, 2008) *''Vive la VI^e République'' (Seuil, 2002) *''Pour l'Europe - Le texte intégral de la Constitution expliqué et commenté'' (Seuil,2003) *''Histoire des présidentielles'' (Seuil, 2007) *''Le starkozysme'' (co-written with Michel Field, Seuil, 2008) *''Droit constitutionnel et institutions politiques'' (Seuil, 2009) *''Histoire de la V^e République (1958–2009)'' (co-written with Guy Carcassonne and Jean-Jacques Chevallier, Dalloz, 2009).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duhamel, Olivier 1950 births Living people Socialist Party (France) MEPs Paris Nanterre University alumni Sciences Po faculty People from Neuilly-sur-Seine MEPs for France 1994–1999 MEPs for France 1999–2004 French political scientists Child sexual abuse in France Lawyers from Paris 21st-century French lawyers French legal scholars Pantheon-Sorbonne University faculty Paris Nanterre University faculty University of Franche-Comté faculty French radio presenters