Joël Le Theule (; 22 March 1930 – 14 December 1980) was a French politician.
Early life
Joël Le Theule was born on March 22, 1930, in
Sablé-sur-Sarthe
Sablé-sur-Sarthe (, literally ''Sablé on Sarthe''), commonly referred to as Sablé, is a commune in the Sarthe department, in the Pays de la Loire region, western France. It is about 50 km northeast of Angers.
Population
Geography
The Va ...
, France.National Assembly: Joël Le Theule /ref>
Career
Le Theule joined the
Union for the New Republic
The Union for the New Republic (french: L'Union pour la nouvelle République, UNR), was a French political party founded on 1 October 1958 that supported Prime Minister Charles de Gaulle in the 1958 elections.
History
The UNR won 206 of 579 s ...
and later the
Rally for the Republic
The Rally for the Republic (french: Rassemblement pour la République ; RPR ), was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 a ...
, two defunct center-right political parties. He served as the Mayor of his hometown, Sablé-sur-Sarthe, from 1959 to 1980. He served as a member of 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 ...
from 1958 to 1968, and from 1973 to 1978, representing
Sarthe
Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the ''Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It had ...
.
He served as the Minister of Overseas Territories from May 31, 1968, to July 12, 1968. He then served as Secretary of State for Information from July 10, 1968, to June 20, 1969. He later was appointed
Minister of Transport
A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...
April 5, 1978, to October 2, 1980. He also served as the
Minister of Defence
A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...
from October 2, 1980, to December 4, 1980.
Death
He died on December 14, 1980, in Saint-Brice, Mayenne.
Legacy
The ''Centre technique de conservation Joël-le-Theule'' of the
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...
in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, located at the
Château de Sablé
The Château de Sablé is an historic castle in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, Sarthe, Pays de la Loire, France.
History
The castle was built from 1717 to 1750 to the design of architect Claude Desgots for Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquess of Torcy.Bibliothèque nationale de France: Le Centre technique de conservation Joël-le-Theule (Sablé-sur-Sarthe) /ref>