Thierry Mariani (born 8 August 1958) is a French politician serving as a

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 ...

(MEP) since 2019. He previously served as Minister in charge of Transport under the Minister of Ecology, Sustainable development, Transport and Housing from 2010 to 2012 (with the title of Secretary of State until 2011). A former member of The Republicans (LR), he has been an Independent since 2019."French MPs' Crimea visit condemned by France and Ukraine"
BBC News, 23 July 2015. Mariani joined the

National Rally The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a Far-right politics, far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as fa ...

(RN) list for the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held between 23 and 26 May 2019, the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) represent more than 512 million peopl ...

. In the 2021 regional election, he led the party's list in

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pref ...

. Although he was ahead in the polls for both the first and second round of voting, which would have made him the first president of a Regional Council affiliated with the National Rally, he placed second in the election's second round, losing to incumbent

Renaud Muselier Renaud Muselier (born 6 May 1959) is a French physician and politician who has served as President of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur since 2017. A former member of The Republicans (LR), he previously was a Member of the Euro ...

, caused by a low turnout rate induced by the covid-19 pandemic and an election delay.

Family and education

Thierry Mariani was born on 8 August 1958 in

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. His family is of Italian origin, from Castellafiume. He went to school in

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

, then

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

, before he attended higher education in Paris.Official website
/ref>

Political career

Early career

Mariani started a career in politics in 1976, alongside

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

. He held the mayorship of

Valréas Valréas (; oc, Vauriàs) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. History The area around the town of Valréas is kno ...

, the city where he grew up, from 1989 to 2005.20 Minutes
/ref>"Thierry Mariani (UMP), le second choix"
''

La Provence ''La Provence'' is a French language daily newspaper published in Marseille, France. History and profile In 1997 ''La Provence'' was created in Marseille from the merger of two daily newspapers, '' Le Provençal'' of former Interior Minister Ga ...

'', 20 January 2010.Le Monde
/ref> He was elected to the

General Council General council may refer to: In education: * General Council (Scottish university), an advisory body to each of the ancient universities of Scotland * General Council of the University of St Andrews, the corporate body of all graduates and senio ...

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.canton of Valréas from 1988 to 2001 and served as one of its vice presidents for the last nine years of his tenure. He also was a regional councillor of

from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2004 to 2015. In the 1993 legislative election, he was elected to 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 ...

Vaucluse's 4th constituency The 4th constituency of the Vaucluse (French: ''Quatrième circonscription de Vaucluse'') is a French legislative constituency in the Vaucluse ''département''. Like the other 576 French constituencies, it elects one MP using the two-round syste ...

. He has been a member of the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

and an observer of the

Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is a regional international organization focusing on multilateral political and economic initiatives aimed at fostering cooperation, peace, stability and prosperity in the Black Sea ...

. In 2009, he was appointed as the French Special Representative for

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

during the

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

elections.

In government

On 14 November 2010, he was appointed Secretary of State at the

Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable development, Transport and Housing The Ministry of Ecological Transition (French: ''Ministère de la Transition écologique''), commonly just referred to as Ministry of Ecology, is a department of the Government of France. It is responsible for preparing and implementing the gov ...

. On 29 June 2011, his title was changed to Minister in charge of Transport, a junior minister office under Minister

Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet Nathalie Geneviève Marie Kosciusko-Morizet () (born 14 May 1973 in the 15th arrondissement of Paris), often referred to by her initials NKM, is an engineer, public figure and advocate, having previously had a political career. She was a Membe ...

In opposition

In April 2011, the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Social ...

selected Mariani as its candidate in the newly created eleventh constituency for French residents overseas (covering French citizens resident in most of Asia, the whole of Oceania, as well as part of Eastern Europe) for the 2012 legislative election. In Vaucluse's 4th constituency, he was succeeded by

Jacques Bompard Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over ...

. Ahead of the 2017 presidential election, Mariani endorsed former

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 ...

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 ...

's presidential bid.Nicholas Vinocur (13 July 2016)
West ‘provoked’ Russia, says former French PM François Fillon
''

Politico Europe ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the German-owned news organization ''Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices ...

''. In the subsequent 2017 legislative election, he ran for reelection but was heavily defeated by Anne Genetet. In the 2019 election, he was elected to 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 ...

as an Independent on the

list. In 2015, Mariani prepared the Council of Europe's report on Chinese migration to Europe, in which he raised "human rights concerns with regard to trafficking and smuggling rings, the lack of legal protection, and the poor work conditions these immigrants often face". From 2012 to 2017, Mariani was a member of the French delegation to the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

. In this capacity, he served as head of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons; as member of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee); and as member of the Sub-Committee on Crime Problems and the Fight against Terrorism. In 2017, he served as the National Assembly's

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Euro ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Mariani was chosen to lead the

list in the 2021 regional election in

, where he challenged

's presidency over the regional council. Some commentators deemed the election to be the National Rally's best chance to win a regional majority for the first time in its history. However, his list placed second (42.7%) in the second round after winning the first (36.3%).

Controversies

Links with Azerbaijan

Therry Mariani is a member of Azerbaijan's Friends Association, which, according to ''

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 ...

'', is the main tool of the caviar diplomacy used by the authoritarian state of Azerbaijan especially in France. As a

(PACE) member, he was known as one of the key actors of caviar diplomacy in Europe and a strong support of the

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev ( az, İlham Heydər oğlu Əliyev, ; born 24 December 1961) is the fourth president of Azerbaijan, serving in the post since 31 October 2003. The son and second child of the former Azerbaijani leader Heydar Aliyev, ...

regime. The PACE investigation report mentions Mariani as one of the MPs who were not sensitive to human rights violations in Azerbaijan and were backing the Azerbaijani authorities in the PACE. Mariani figures prominently as a friend of the Aliyev regime in the French documentary series by

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on 7 ...

, called ''Cash Investigation: Mon président est en voyage d’affaires''. Mariani has personal relations with the Aliyev family; he has repeatedly spoken alongside

Mehriban Aliyeva Mehriban Arif gizi Aliyeva (; az, Mehriban Arif qızı Əliyeva Paşayeva, ; born 26 August 1964) is an Azerbaijani politician and physician who is the vice president and First Lady of Azerbaijan. She is married to Ilham Aliyev, the president o ...

, Azerbaijan's First Lady, at several Azerbaijani-organised events in France. Mariani is the Chairman of the NGO L'Eurasie, les nouveaux horizons, a member-organisation of the European Academy for Election Observation, an election observation NGO founded by Azerbaijan apologists Stef Goris and

Alain Destexhe Alain Destexhe (born 19 June 1958) is a Belgian politician. He was a senator from 1995 to 2011, and remained a member of the Brussels Regional Parliament until 2019. Destexhe was a member of the liberal Mouvement Réformateur (MR) and repre ...

, which has promoted Azerbaijani interests in Europe. In 2010, the NGO L'Eurasie, les nouveaux horizons co-organised an event with an NGO led by Elkhan Suleymanov, an Azerbaijani MP at the centre of lobbying scandals in the PACE. He was also one of the key persons of the

Azerbaijani Laundromat The Azerbaijani laundromat is a complex money-laundering scheme organized by Azerbaijan that was revealed by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) in September 2017. The investigations exposed that during two years between 2 ...

Russian annexation of Crimea

In July 2015, Mariani, accompanied by Russian officials, made a trip to

Crimean Peninsula Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a po ...

which was annexed by Russia in 2014. In interviews and meetings he expressed support: "We welcome the courage of the Crimean Parliament because it was able to make this decision despite the difficult situation and a great risk of escalation". In 2016, he brought non-binding resolutions to the National Assembly and Senate calling on the European Union to lift economic sanctions against Russia. The resolutions, which had symbolic value, were adopted by both chambers in April and June, respectively.

Relation with China

Mariani has not supported

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

's claim of being the true

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

(1912–1949), the

East Turkestan independence movement The East Turkestan independence movement ( ug, شەرقىي تۈركىستان مۇستەقىللىق ھەرىكىتى; zh, s=东突厥斯坦独立运动) is a political movement that seeks the independence of East Turkestan, a large and spa ...

, or the

Tibetan independence movement The Tibetan Independence Movement () is the political movement advocating for the separation and independence of Tibet from the People's Republic of China. It is principally led by the Tibetan diaspora in countries like India and the United Stat ...

.Promoting the integration of Chinese migrants in Europe

, press release of 27 April 2015.

Detail of mandates and functions

Governmental functions Member of the Government of France: Secretary of State for Transport: 2010–2011; Minister in charge of Transport: 2011–2012. Electoral mandates ''European Parliament'' Member of the

for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

: 2019–present. Elected in 2019. ''National Assembly of France'' Member of the

for

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.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 ...

for French residents overseas (11th constituency): 2012–2017. Elected in 2012. ''Regional council'' Regional councillor of Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur: 1992–1993 (resignation). 2004–2015. Elected in 1992, reelected in 2004 and 2010. ''General council'' Vice President of the General Council of

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; oc, Vauclusa, label= Provençal or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.Valréas Valréas (; oc, Vauriàs) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. History The area around the town of Valréas is kno ...

: 1989–2005 (resignation). Elected in 1989, reelected in 1995 and 2001. Municipal councillor of Valréas: 1989–2005 (resignation). Elected in 1989, reelected in 1995 and 2001.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mariani, Thierry 1958 births Living people People from Orange, Vaucluse French people of Italian descent Politicians from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Rally for the Republic politicians Union for a Popular Movement politicians The Popular Right The Republicans (France) politicians National Rally (France) politicians Transport ministers of France Deputies of the 10th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 11th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 12th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 13th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 14th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic MEPs for France 2019–2024