Éric Woerth (born 29 January 1956) is a French politician of The Republicans (LR).

Early life and education

Woerth was born in

Creil Creil is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. The Creil station is an important railway junction. History Archaeological remains in the area include a Neolithic site as well as a late Iron Age necropolis, perhaps belonging to ...

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...

. He studied at Panthéon-Assas University,

HEC School of Management HEC Paris (french: École des hautes études commerciales de Paris) is a business school, and one of the most prestigious and selective grandes écoles, located in Jouy-en-Josas, France. HEC offers Master in Management, MSc International Fina ...

and

Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

Political career

Career in local politics

''Municipal Council'' Mayor of

Chantilly, Oise Chantilly ( , ) is a commune in the Oise department in the Valley of the Nonette in the Hauts-de-France region of Northern France. Surrounded by Chantilly Forest, the town of 10,863 inhabitants (2017) falls within the metropolitan area of Pari ...

: 1995-2004 (Resignation) / And since 2005. Reelected in 2001, 2005, 2008. Deputy-mayor of

: 2004–2005. Municipal councillor of

: Since 1995. Reelected in 2001, 2008. ''Community of communes Council'' President of the

Communauté de communes A ''communauté de communes'' (, "community of communes") is a federation of municipalities (communes) in France. It forms a framework within which local tasks are carried out together. It is the least-integrated form of ''intercommunalité'' (int ...

of the aire cantilenne : Since 1995. Reelected in 2001, 2008. Member of the

of the aire cantilienne : Since 1995. Reelected in 2001, 2008. Vice-president of the Regional Council of Picardy : 1992–1998. Regional councillor of

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

: 1986-2002 (Resignation). Reelected in 1992, 1998.

Member of the National Assembly, 2002–2004

Woerth was elected ''député'' for

in 2002. In parliament, he served on the Finance Committee from 2002 until 2004. In addition to his parliamentary work, Woerth was the treasurer of the UMP until he resigned in July 2010.

Career in government

Woerth was state secretary for state reform in the government of

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-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. Howeve ...

from 2004 to 2005. Woerth founded the "''club de la boussole''", a group of UMP ''députés'', and is a member of the '' Réformateurs'', a liberal trend within the UMP. Woerth was the Minister for the Budget, Public Accounts and the Civil Service from 2007 until 2010, 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 ...

. In this capacity, he oversaw French authorities obtaining Swiss bank account data amid a push to catch tax cheats. Woerth later served as Minister of Labor, Solidarity and Civil Service from March until November 2010.

Member of the National Assembly, 2010–present

In parliament, Woerth served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs from 2010 until 2012 before moving to the Finance Committee in 2012. In addition to his committee assignments, he has been a member of the

Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly The Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly (french: Assemblée parlementaire franco-allemande; german: Deutsch-Französische Parlamentarische Versammlung, ''DFPV'') is a joint body of the German Bundestag and the French National Assembly formed to ...

since 2019. In the Republicans' 2016 presidential primaries, Woerth endorsed

as the party's candidate for the office of

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...

. In the Republicans' 2017 leadership election, he endorsed

Laurent Wauquiez Laurent Timothée Marie Wauquiez (; born 12 April 1975) is a French politician who has presided over the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes since 2016. He is a member of The Republicans (LR), which he led from 2017 to 2019 following the ...

. In July 2019, Woerth was one of the few LR members who abstained from a vote on the French ratification of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a free-trade agreement between Canada and the European Union and its member states. It has been provisionally applied, thus removing 98% of the preexisting tariffs between the two parts. ...

(CETA) with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. Together with Benjamin Dirx, Woerth published a non-legally binding report in 2019 which garnered international attention for its recommendations on preventing short-sellers and activists from unfairly destabilising French corporates. These included widening the disclosures of short positions to derivatives instruments, pushing for more transparency around the borrowing and lending of stock, and investigating whether market functions are jeopardised once short selling reaches a certain volume of shares. Ahead of the 2022 presidential elections, Woerth publicly declared his support for incumbent

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...

and criticized the Republicans’ candidate

Valérie Pécresse Valérie Pécresse (; born Roux, 14 July 1967) is a French politician who has served as President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France since 2015. A member of The Republicans (LR), she previously served as Minister of Higher Education and ...

. Following the 2022 legislative election, Woerth stood as a candidate for the National Assembly's presidency; in an internal vote, he lost against

Yaël Braun-Pivet Yaël Braun-Pivet (; born 7 December 1970) is a French lawyer and politician who has served as President of the French National Assembly since 28 June 2022. She is the first woman to hold this position. A member of La République En Marche (LREM ...

Legal difficulties

On 5 July 2010, following its investigations on the ''Liliane Bettencourt and Éric Woerth'' political controversy, the online newspaper

Mediapart ''Mediapart'' is an independent French investigative online newspaper created in 2008 by Edwy Plenel, former editor-in-chief of ''Le Monde''. ''Mediapart'' is published in French, English and Spanish. ''Mediapart's'' income is solely derived ...

revealed a report where Claire Thibout, an ex-accountant working for

Liliane Bettencourt Liliane Henriette Charlotte Bettencourt (; née Schueller; 21 October 1922 – 21 September 2017) was a French heiress, socialite and businesswoman. She was one of the principal shareholders of L'Oréal. At the time of her death, she was the ...

, accused Nicolas Sarkozy and Woerth of receiving illegal campaign donations in 2007, in cash. The ''

Canard enchaîné Canard is French for duck, a type of aquatic bird. Canard may also refer to: Aviation *Canard (aeronautics), a small wing in front of an aircraft's main wing * Aviafiber Canard 2FL, a single seat recreational aircraft of canard design * Blé ...

'' and ''

Marianne Marianne () has been the national personification of the French Republic since the French Revolution, as a personification of liberty, equality, fraternity and reason, as well as a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty. Marianne is displayed i ...

'' weeklies later revealed that Woerth authorized the sale of the Compiegne racetrack to a group with close connections to the UMP, for a very low price and through an improper procedure. He was placed under formal investigation by the

Cour de Justice de la République The ''Cour de Justice de la République'' (CJR, "Court of Justice of the Republic") is a special French court established to try cases of ministerial misconduct. Its remit only extends to government ministers (or former ministers) concerning of ...

for that sale. All charges against him were dismissed in 2015. :fr:Affaire Woerth-Bettencourt#Décision de renvois en correctionnelle et relaxe He has been put under investigation in 2018 in the alleged Libyan financing in the 2007 French presidential election and in 2021 in the Bernard Tapie case.

References

External links

Éric Woerth's blog

''Le Monde'' (2 July 2010) * ttp://www.liberation.fr/societe/01012302681-la-justice-rattrape-woerth-au-pas-de-course# la justice rattrape woerth au pas de course ''Libération'' (17 November 2010)
eric-woerth-aurait-bien-brade-l-hippodrome-de-compiegne
''Le Monde'' (21 January 2012) {{DEFAULTSORT:Woerth, Eric 1956 births Living people People from Creil Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni HEC Paris alumni Sciences Po alumni Politicians of the French Fifth Republic French Ministers of Budget French Ministers of Civil Service Mayors of places in Hauts-de-France The Republicans (France) politicians 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 Deputies of the 15th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic La République En Marche! politicians Deputies of the 16th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic