Henri Emmanuelli (31 May 1945 – 21 March 2017) was a French

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 member of the

French Socialist Party The Socialist Party (french: Parti socialiste , PS) is a French centre-left and social-democratic political party. It holds pro-European views. The PS was for decades the largest party of the "French Left" and used to be one of the two major po ...

, he was deputy for

Landes ''Landes'', or ''Lanas'' in Gascon, means moorland or heath. ''Landes'' and ''Lanas'' come from the Latin ''plānus'' meaning “‘flat, even, level, plain’”. They are therefore cognate with the English plain (and plane), the Spanish word ''l ...

from 1978 to 1981, from 1986 to 1997, and from 2000 to 2017.

Early life and career

Emmanuelli was born in

Eaux-Bonnes Eaux-Bonnes (, "good waters"; oc, Aigas Bonas) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France. Description Eaux-Bonnes is close to the small town of Laruns. It is situated at a height of at the entrance of a fi ...

in the French department of

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; eu, Pirinio Atlantiarrak or ) is a department in the southwest corner of France and of the region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Pyrenees mountain range and the Atlant ...

. He grew up with a working-class background and lost his father at a very young age. He studied at

Lycée Louis-Barthou Lycée Louis-Barthou is a secondary school in Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France. History The school's history goes back to a religious establishment founded by Jesuits in 1640. It is named for French politician Louis Barthou. Academics The ...

Pau, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pau (, ) is a commune overlooking the Pyrenees, and prefecture of the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France. The city is located in the heart of the former sovereign principality of Béarn, of which it ...

and then in

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

in Paris. In 1969, he joined the

Compagnie Financière Edmond de Rothschild The Edmond de Rothschild Group is a financial institution specialized in private banking and asset management. Based in Geneva, the group is family-owned and independent, and encompasses the Edmond de Rothschild Foundations (philanthropic arm), ...

. In 1971, he was appointed to the management of this company, becoming a senior banking executive and then a co-director in 1975. He continued his professional career at the Rothschild Bank until he was elected at the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are kn ...

at age 32 in 1978.

Political career

He joined the Socialist Party in 1971. On the request 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 ...

he was, at the age of 27, a candidate in the legislative elections of March 1973 in the second circonscription of Lot-et-Garonne. But it was on 19 March 1978 that he was elected for the first time as the deputy for the third electoral district of Landes, which moved the district to the left-wing. In 1982, he was elected for the first time as the

President of the General Council In France, the President of the Departmental Council (French: ''Président du Conseil départemental'') is the locally elected head of the departmental council, the assembly governing a department in France. The position is elected by the depart ...

of Landes. Between 1981 and 1986, he served in the governments of

Pierre Mauroy Pierre Mauroy (; 5 July 1928 – 7 June 2013) was a French Socialist politician who was Prime Minister of France from 1981 to 1984 under President François Mitterrand. Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. At the time of his de ...

and

Laurent Fabius Laurent Fabius (; born 20 August 1946) is a French politician serving as President of the Constitutional Council since 8 March 2016. A member of the Socialist Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of France from 17 July 1984 to 20 Mar ...

as the Secretary of State charged with the DOM-TOM territories of France and between 1981 and 1983, as Secretary of State for Budget between 1983 and 1986, and Secretary of State for Consumption between 1984 and 1986. Between January 1992 and April 1993, he was chairman of the National Assembly. He was then elected First Secretary of the Socialist Party in June 1994 and held this office until October 1995. His election to this position was seen as revenge for the Mitterrand wing of the Socialist Party against

Michel Rocard Michel Rocard (; 23 August 1930 – 2 July 2016) was a French politician and a member of the Socialist Party (PS). He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1988 to 1991 during which he created the ''Revenu minimum d'ins ...

, the incumbent First Secretary, who had been weakened by the party's poor result in the 1994 European Parliament election. However, he was defeated by

Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and the party's candidate for President of France in ...

in the race to represent the Socialist Party in the 1995 presidential election. Jospin also took on the role of First Secretary of the party in October 1995. One year later, Emmanuelli was convicted for the illicit financing of the party when he was its treasurer. He re-entered politics in 2000. Whilst he was a faithful supporter of Mitterrand until the latter's death, he is identified as belonging to the left-wing of the Socialist Party, and was one of the leaders of the party's "New World" faction formed in 2002 that aimed to steer the party leftwards after Jospin's poor performance in that year's presidential election. In the campaigns for the Referendum on the European Constitution in 2005 and the Treaty of Rome of 2004, he publicly declared himself in favour of the no campaign; this put him in direct opposition to the official line of the Socialist Party, which was in favour of the treaty. He believed that the treaty was a move away from the idea of a Federal Europe, which he endorsed, notably in his "Plea for Europe". He is followed by his close supporters, one of which is Michel Vergnier, the deputy for la Creuse. In 2000, he took part in the Congress of Grenoble of the Socialist Party and was an avid campaigner for a Socialist Party that was aligned to the left. For the Congress of Mans in November 2005, he associated himself with the New Socialist Party motion of

Arnaud Montebourg Arnaud Montebourg (; born 30 October 1962) is a French politician, lawyer and entrepreneur who served as the Minister of Industrial Renewal from 2012 to 2014,Vincent Peillon Vincent Benoît Camille Peillon (; born 7 July 1960) is a French politician who served as Minister for Education in the French Government. He is a longstanding French politician and, from 2014 until 2019, served as a Member of the European Parl ...

, and

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 ...

Political career

Governmental functions *Secretary of State for Overseas Territories: 1981–1983 *Secretary of State for Budget and consommation: 1983–1986 Electoral mandates ''National Assembly of France'' *President of the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are know ...

: 1992–1993 *Member of the

for

(3rd constituency): 1978–1981 (Became secretary of State in 1981) / 1986–1997 (Sentenced to prison in 1997) / Since 2000. Elected in 1978, reelected in 1981, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2012. ''Regional Council'' *Regional councillor of

Aquitaine Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...

: 1986–1988 (resignation) ''General Council'' *President of the General Council of

: 1982–1997 (Sentenced to prison in 1997) / Since 2000. Reelected in 1985, 1988, 1992, 1994, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2011. *General councillor of

, elected in the

canton Canton may refer to: Administrative division terminology * Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland * Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French Arts and ente ...

of Tartas-Ouest, them from 1994 for the

of Mugron: 1982–1997 (Sentenced to prison in 1997) / Since 2000. Reelected in 1988, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2008. Political functions *First Secretary (leader) 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 ...

: 1994–1995, elected in 1994.

Death

Emmanuelli died on 21 March 2017 at a medical center in

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine r ...

from complications of

acute bronchitis Acute bronchitis, also known as a chest cold, is short-term bronchitis – inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) of the lungs. The most common symptom is a cough. Other symptoms include coughing up mucus, wheezing, shor ...

at the age of 71.« Henri Emmanuelli est mort »
'' Sud-Ouest'', 21 mars 2017 (in French).

Publications

* ''Plaidoyer pour l’Europe'', Éditions Flammarion, July 1992. (A Plea for Europe) * ''Citadelles interdites'', Éditions Ramsay, 2000 (roman). (Forbidden Citadels)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emmanuelli, Henri 1945 births 2017 deaths Infectious disease deaths in France People from Béarn Chairmen of the Socialist Party (France) Politicians of the French Fifth Republic French Ministers of Budget French Ministers of Overseas France French people of Corsican descent French bankers Socialist Party (France) politicians Sciences Po alumni Presidents of the National Assembly (France) 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 Politicians from Nouvelle-Aquitaine