Roxana Maracineanu (; born 7 May 1975) is a Romanian-born French politician, former swimming champion and television consultant who served as Minister Delegate in charge of Sports in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

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 is not ...

Jean Castex Jean Castex (; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician who was the country's Prime Minister from 3 July 2020 to 16 May 2022. He was a member of The Republicans (LR) until 2020, when he joined La République En Marche! (LREM). Castex served fo ...

(2020–2022) and as

Minister of Sports A minister of sport (or sports minister) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with sports. Minister of Sport may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism and Sports (Argentina) * Minister for Sport (Australia) * Minist ...

under

Édouard Philippe Édouard Charles Philippe (; born 28 November 1970) is a French politician serving as Mayor of Le Havre since 2020, previously holding the office from 2010 to 2017. He was Prime Minister of France from 15 May 2017 to 3 July 2020 under President ...

(2018–2022). Born in Romania, Maracineanu moved to France as a child, acquiring the citizenship via

naturalisation Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...

at age 16. An accomplished swimmer Maracineanu became the first French world swimming champion in January 1998. She won silver medal in the 200 m backstroke at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. She was the

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candidate in

Val-de-Marne's 7th constituency The 7th constituency of Val-de-Marne is a French legislative Constituency (France), constituency in the Val-de-Marne departments of France, ''département''. Description The 7th constituency of Val-de-Marne was moved entirely as a result of th ...

in the

2022 French legislative election Legislative elections in France were held on 12 and 19 June 2022 to elect the 577 members of the 16th National Assembly of the Fifth French Republic. The elections took place following the 2022 French presidential election, which was held in A ...

, but lost out to

Rachel Keke Rachel Keke Raïssa (; born 30 May 1974) is an Ivorian-born French politician and former chambermaid. A member of the National Assembly since 2022, she represents the 7th constituency of the Val-de-Marne department. She is a member of La Franc ...

from

NUPES The New Ecological and Social People's Union (french: Nouvelle Union populaire écologique et sociale, link=no, NUPES) is a left-wing alliance of political parties in France. Formed on May Day 2022, the alliance includes La France Insoumise (LFI) ...

Family and childhood

Born in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, Romania as Roxana Mărăcineanu, she practiced gymnastics as a child. Her father, thanks to a contract of cooperation, went to work in Algeria, taking his family. They then moved to France in 1984 where they asked for

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent Asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

to flee the Ceauşescu regime. It was in

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

, in a transit center, that she learned French. She went to secondary school at Jean Macé College in

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; Alsatian language, Alsatian: or , ; ; meaning ''Mill (grinding), mill house'') is a city of the Haut-Rhin Departments of France, department, in the Grand Est Regions of France, region, eastern France, close to the France–Switzerl ...

. She was naturalized French in 1991 at the age of 16 years. She graduated from

ESCP Europe ESCP Business School (french: École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris) is a French business school and ''grande école'' founded in Paris and based across Europe with campuses in Paris, Berlin, London, Madrid, Turin, and Warsaw. It is consiste ...

in 2005 and has a master's degree in English and German.

Sporting career

Representing the Mulhouse Olympic Swimming team, whose coach was Lionel Horter, Maracineanu won her first French national title in 100 meters and 200 meters at the 1991 summer championships. In

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, at the 1997 European Championships, she was beaten by Germany's

Antje Buschschulte Antje Buschschulte (born 27 December 1978 in Berlin) is a former German swimmer. Her best disciplines were the short distance backstroke and freestyle races. Buschschulte swam for the sporting club SC Magdeburg. She participated in Olympic Games ...

in the 100 meters back and third in the 200-meter backstroke, behind Germany's

Cathleen Rund Cathleen Großmann (born Cathleen Rund, 3 November 1977 in Berlin), formerly called Cathleen Stolze, is a former backstroke and medley swimmer from Germany, who competed at two consecutive Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in ...

and

. At the 1998 Worlds Championships in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, she began her competition with a sixth place finish in the 100m backstroke, won by

Lea Maurer Lea Loveless Maurer (born April 1, 1971), née Lea E. Loveless, is an American former competition swimming (sport), swimmer, Olympic champion, and former college swimming coach. She represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics in B ...

. Before the 200-meter final, her coach Lionel Horter assures her that if she leads the 150-meter race, she will win the race. First in front of Germany's

Dagmar Hase Dagmar Hase (born 22 December 1969 in Quedlinburg, Saxony-Anhalt, East Germany) is a former German swimmer, specialised in the freestyle and backstroke. She won seven Olympic medals in her career, including a gold medal in the 400 m fre ...

, she becomes the first French world swimming champion. In October 2004, she announced her retirement two months after

Laure Manaudou Laure Manaudou (; born 9 October 1986) is a retired French Olympic, world and European champion swimmer. She has held the world record in freestyle events between 200 and 1500 meter. She is the daughter of a French father and a Dutch mother, and s ...

's 400m triumph at the Athens Olympics. She had been a childhood idol of Manaudou's, having sent a letter to her in her youth.

Sports consultant and other activities

Consultant

In March 2007, at the World Swimming Championships in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, she was a consultant for

France Télévisions France Télévisions (; stylized since 2018 as ) is the French national public television broadcaster. It is a state-owned company formed from the integration of the public television channels France 2 (formerly Antenne 2) and France 3 (former ...

alongside Alexandre Boyon and Michel Rousseau, and for

L'Équipe TV ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor was ...

. Since the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, she has been a consultant on the public group and on

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 ...

. She renewed this collaboration for the 2009 World Championships in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, the 2010 World Short Course Championships in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, the 2010 European Championships in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, at the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. At the 2014 European Championships,

Frédérick Bousquet Frédérick Bousquet (, born 8 April 1981 in Perpignan) is a retired freestyle and butterfly swimmer from France. He was the holder of the world record in the 50 m freestyle in a time of 20.94 in long course, set on 26 April 2009 at the ...

, injured, was a consultant to Maracineanu, Alexandre Boyon and

Nelson Monfort Nelson Monfort (born March 12, 1953) is a French sports journalist, linguist and television host. TV and radio career After his studies at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, Monfort began his career as a sports journalist by commenting fi ...

. For the next major competition, at the 2015 Kazan World Championships, the

group, wishing to reform the duo Philippe Lucas and

, did not renew her contract. In 2009, she received the Sports Commentator Award from the Association of Sports Writers. It rewards "a journalist, professional, audiovisual commentator, with the appreciated knowledge and the judgment which, in its interventions on the sport, will be expressed with the constant concern to respect the rules of the French language".

Candidate at the FFN

With the resignation of Lionel Horter from the position of National Technical Director, the

French Swimming Federation The French Swimming Federation (french: Fédération française de natation, FFN) is the French water sports association, founded in February 1919, grouping the sports swimming clubs, open water swimming, synchronized swimming, diving and French w ...

, she was. In 2015, she was among the last three candidates of a replacement list established by the Ministry of Sports. The post was finally awarded to Jacques Favre.

Volunteering

Maracineanu took part in the program "Eat well, it's well played!" launched in 2005 by the Sports Foundation. She was also involved in the production of videos aimed at young athletes to teach them the basics of a diet adapted to physical effort, as part of a program of the Sports Foundation sensitizing children to the importance of physical activity.

Political career

Regional Councilor

A candidate on the list of the

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 ...

, she was elected to the regional council of

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

on 21 March 2010 and joined the sports and leisure commission. Her mandate ended with the renewal of the Regional Council on 13 December 2015.

Minister of Sports

In July 2018

asked her to participate in an interministerial mission (between Education and Sports) to find ways to improve swimming in France's primary schools. On 4 September 2018, Maracineanu was appointed

in the Philippe Government, replacing

Laura Flessel Laura Flessel-Colovic (born 6 November 1971) is a French politician and épée fencer who served as Minister of Sports from 2017 to 2018. Born in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, she has won the most Olympic medals of any French sportswoman, with f ...

. In January of 2020, Maracineanu successfully forced the resignation of

Didier Gailhaguet Didier Gailhaguet (born 22 August 1953) is a French former Figure skating, figure skater, coach and official. He served as the president of the French Federation of Ice Sports, Fédération française des sports de glace (FFSG) from 1998 to 2004 ...

, the president of the

French Federation of Ice Sports French Federation of Ice Sports (or French Ice Sports Federation; french: Fédération française des sports de glace or ''FFSG'') is the national governing body for a number of ice sports in France. It manages completely different sports discipl ...

, over what she considered his failure to appropriately handle sexual abuse allegations within the sport of figure skating, following allegations by retired pairs skater

Sarah Abitbol Sarah Abitbol (born 8 June 1975) is a French former competitive pair skater. With skating partner Stéphane Bernadis, she is the 2000 World bronze medalist, the 2000 Grand Prix Final silver medalist, a seven-time European medalist (two silve ...

against her former coach

Gilles Beyer Gilles Beyer (1957 – 19 January 2023)Morto ...

, a Gailhaguet ally. Maracineanu subsequently ordered a broad investigation of sexual abuse in French sporting culture that resulted in over 400 individuals being accused of wrongdoing.

Minister delegate in charge of Sports

On 6 July 2020, following the appointment of Jean Castex as the new French Prime Minister and a cabinet reshuffle, Maracineanu became Minister delegate in charge of Sports, attached to the Minister of National Education, Youth and Sport,

Jean-Michel Blanquer Jean-Michel Blanquer (; born 4 December 1964) is a French jurist and government official serving as Minister of National Education under Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex from 2017 to 2022. Education and early career Born in ...

Orders and awards

* National Order of Merit (France) *

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

(France) *Sports Commentator Award 2009

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maracineanu, Roxana 1975 births Living people French female backstroke swimmers Olympic swimmers of France Olympic silver medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists for France Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Mediterranean Games medalists in swimming Mediterranean Games gold medalists for France Swimmers at the 1997 Mediterranean Games Universiade medalists in swimming Universiade bronze medalists for France Sportspeople from Bucharest Romanian emigrants to France Naturalized citizens of France ESCP Europe alumni Women government ministers of France 21st-century French politicians 21st-century French women politicians