Frédéric Mitterrand (born 21 August 1947) is a French politician who served as Minister of Culture and Communication of France from 2009 to 2012 under President

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 ...

. Throughout his career, he has been an actor, screenwriter, television presenter, writer, producer and director.

Biography

Born in Paris, he is the nephew of

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

, who was the

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 ...

from 1981 to 1995, and the son of engineer Robert Mitterrand (1915–2002) and Edith Cahier, the niece of

Eugène Deloncle Eugène Deloncle (20 June 1890 – 17 January 1944) was a French politician and Fascist leader, who founded of the “Secret Committee of Revolutionary Action" (CSAR), known as "The Hood" (la Cagoule), and became a prominent Nazi collaborator d ...

, the co-founder of "

La Cagoule La Cagoule (''The Cowl'', press nickname coined by the '' Action Française'' nationalist Maurice Pujo), originally called the ''Organisation secrète d'action révolutionnaire nationale'' (Osarn or OSAR; Secret Organisation for revolutionary na ...

". He attended the

Lycée Janson de Sailly In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

in Paris and studied history and geography at the

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, m ...

, and political science at

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

. He taught economics, history and geography at EABJM from 1968 to 1971. In 1978, he was a film critic at ''J'informe''. From 1971 to 1986, he ran several

art film An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily f ...

cinemas in Paris (Olympic Palace, Entrepôt and Olympic-Entrepôt). He also had roles in a number of films, and in the 1980s was active as a producer and director in TV productions. In June 2008, Mitterrand was appointed as the director of the

French Academy in Rome The French Academy in Rome (french: Académie de France à Rome) is an Academy located in the Villa Medici, within the Villa Borghese, on the Pincio (Pincian Hill) in Rome, Italy. History The Academy was founded at the Palazzo Capranica in ...

by President

. A year later, on 23 June 2009, Mitterrand was appointed to the French government as the Minister of Culture and Communications until May 2012. Mitterrand, who is openly bisexual, writes a monthly column for ''

Têtu ( French for "stubborn") is the main LGBTQIA magazine published in France. It was subtitled in French ( en, the magazine of gays and lesbians) until 2007, and reaffirmed itself as a men's magazine since then. As of December, 2012, its certif ...

''.

''The Bad Life''

Mitterrand's autobiographical novel ''

The Bad Life ''The Bad Life'' (french: La Mauvaise Vie) is a 2005 French novel by Frédéric Mitterrand, the Minister of Culture and Communication of France. The novel is partly autobiographical but fictionalized to a certain extent. The novel has been praise ...

'' (french: link=no, La mauvaise vie) was a best seller in 2005. In the book he details his "delight" whilst visiting the

male brothel Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male pro ...

s of

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, and writes, "I got into the habit of paying for boys ... The profusion of young, very attractive and immediately available boys put me in a state of desire I no longer needed to restrain or hide." At the time of its release Mitterrand was applauded for his honesty, but he has had to defend his writings after he publicly defended Roman Polanski when Polanski was detained in Switzerland on an American request for

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

for raping a thirteen-year-old girl. On 5 October 2009,

Marine Le Pen Marion Anne Perrine "Marine" Le Pen (; born 5 August 1968) is a French lawyer and politician who ran for the French presidency in 2012, 2017, and 2022. A member of the National Rally (RN; previously the National Front, FN), she served as its ...

of the French National Front Party quoted sections of the book on French television, accusing him of having sex with underage boys and engaging in "

sex tourism Sex tourism refers to the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships in exchange for money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly ope ...

", demanding that Mitterrand resign his position as culture minister. Amongst others he was also criticised by 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 ...

spokesman

Benoît Hamon Benoît Hamon (; born 26 June 1967) is a French politician known for his former role within the Socialist Party (PS) and Party of European Socialists (PES) and his political party Génération.s. Hamon joined the Socialist Party in 1988 and ...

, who stated: "As a minister of culture he has drawn attention to himself by defending a film maker and he has written a book where he said he took advantage of sexual tourism. To say the least, I find it shocking." On the other hand, some

conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

supported Mitterrand, and a close aide to

said the French President backed his Culture Minister, describing the controversy around him as "pathetic". Mitterrand insisted the book is not an autobiography, the publisher describes it as a "novel inspired by autobiography" and the BBC refers to it as "autobiographical novel". In his own defence Mitterrand stated, "Each time I was with people who were my age, or who were five years younger – there wasn't the slightest ambiguity – and who were consenting", and that he uses the term "boys" loosely, both in his life and in the book. He also declared, "I condemn sexual tourism, which is a disgrace. I condemn

paedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty ...

, which I have never in any way participated in."

Filmography

;Actor: * 1960: ''Fortunat'' * 1992: ''La collection secrète de Salvador Dalí'' by Otto Kelmer * 1997: ''Mon copain Rachid'', by Philippe Barassat * 1998: ''

Que la lumière soit ''Let There Be Light'' (original title: ''Que la lumière soit !'') is a 1998 comedy fantasy film directed by Arthur Joffé, starring an ensemble cast. Cast * Hélène de Fougerolles as Jeanne * Tchéky Karyo as Harper * Ticky Holgado as Angel R ...

'', by

Arthur Joffé Arthur Joffé (born 20 September 1953) is a French film director, the son of the director and screenwriter Alex Joffé.Philippe Rège, ''Encyclopedia of French Film Directors'', volume 1, p538 He was awarded the Palme d'Or du court métrage at th ...

* 2001: '' Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain'' by

Jean-Pierre Jeunet Jean-Pierre Jeunet (; born 3 September 1953) is a French film director, producer and screenwriter. His films combine fantasy, realism and science fiction to create idealized realities or to give relevance to mundane situations. Debuting as a di ...

;Director: * 1981: ''Lettres d'amour en Somalie'' * 1984: ''Paris vu par… vingt ans plus tard'' * 1995: ''

Madame Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...

'', adaption of the Puccini opera ;Producer: * ''Les Aigles foudroyés'', documentary * ''Mémoires d'exil'', documentary * ''Fairouz'', documentary, 1998 * ''Je suis la Folle de Brejnev'', 2001 * '' FARAH: The Last Empress'', documentary 2009

Publications

* ''Tous désirs confondus'', Actes Sud, 1988, new ed. 2009 * ''Mémoires d'exil'', Robert Laffont, 1990, * ''Destins d'étoiles'' – tomes 1, 2, 3, 4 – Fixot, 1991–1992 * ''Monte Carlo: la légende'', Assouline, 1993 * ''Une saison tunisienne'', sous la direction de Frédéric Mitterrand et Soraya Elyes-Ferchichi, Actes Sud, 1995 * ''L'Ange bleu: un film de Joseph von Sternberg'', Plume, 1995 * ''Madame Butterfly'', Plume, 1995 * ''Les Aigles foudroyés – la fin des Romanov des Habsbourg et des Hohenzollern'', Pocket, 1998 * ''Un jour dans le siècle'', Robert Laffont, 2000 * ''

La Mauvaise Vie ''The Bad Life'' (french: La Mauvaise Vie) is a 2005 French novel by Frédéric Mitterrand, the Minister of Culture and Communication of France. The novel is partly autobiographical but fictionalized to a certain extent. The novel has been prais ...

'', Robert Laffont, 2005 * ''Lettres d'amour en Somalie'', Pocket, September 2006 * ''Maroc, 1900–1960 Un certain regard'', avec

Abdellah Taïa Abdellah Taïa ( ar, عبد الله الطايع; born 1973) is a Moroccan writer and filmmaker who writes in the French language and has been based in Paris since 1998. He has published eight novels, many of them heavily autobiographical. Hi ...

, Actes Sud, 2007 * ''Le Festival de Cannes'', Robert Laffont, 2007 * ''Le désir et la chance'', Robert Laffont, 2012 * ''La récréation'', Robert Laffont, 2013

Honours

National honours

* : Former Chancellor Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honour * : Former Chancellor Officer of the

National Order of Merit An order of merit is conferred by a state, government or royal family on an individual in recognition of military or civil merit. Order of merit may also refer to: * FIFA Order of Merit, for significant contribution to association football * PDC ...

* : Former Chancellor Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, 1st Class

Foreign honours

* : Knight Officer of the Order of Cultural Merit *

Romanian Royal Family The Romanian royal family ( ro, Familia regală a României) was the ruling dynasty of the Kingdom of Romania, a constitutional monarchy in Central-Eastern Europe. The kingdom existed from 1881, when Carol I of Romania was proclaimed king, unti ...

: Knight Commander of the Order of the Crown *

: Knight of the Royal Decoration of the Cross of the Romanian Royal House

References

External links

*
(In French) A passage from Mitterrand's autobiography, "La Mauvaise Vie"
(Edition Robert Laffont, 360 p., 2005), pages 293 à 307. publisher LeMonde.Fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitterrand, Frederic 1947 births Living people Male actors from Paris Bisexual male actors Bisexual politicians Bisexual writers French male film actors French film directors French film producers French Ministers of Culture French male screenwriters French screenwriters French television presenters French television producers LGBT film directors LGBT television directors French LGBT politicians LGBT screenwriters French LGBT writers François Mitterrand Lycée Janson-de-Sailly alumni Sciences Po alumni Officers of the Order of Cultural Merit (Monaco) Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Romania) Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 20th-century French writers 21st-century French writers 21st-century French politicians University of Paris alumni Mitterrand family