Éric Woerth (born 29 January 1956) is a French politician of

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

Early life and education

Woerth was born in

Creil Creil () is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department, 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 ...

Oise Oise ( ; ; ) 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 in 2019.< ...

. He studied at Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University,

HEC Paris HEC Paris () is a business school and ''grande école'' located in Jouy-en-Josas, a southwestern outer suburb of Paris, France. It offers Bachelor, MiM, MSc in International Finance, MBA, EMBA, executive education, professional developm ...

and

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

Political career

Career in local politics

''Municipal Council''

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city ** US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Chantilly (Charlotte neighborhood), North Carolina ...

: 1995-2004 (Resignation) / And since 2005. Reelected in 2001, 2005, 2008. Deputy-mayor of Chantilly : 2004–2005. Municipal councillor of Chantilly : Since 1995. Reelected in 2001, 2008. ''Community of communes Council'' President of the

Communauté de communes A (, "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'' (intercommunality). As of 1 J ...

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 language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

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

Member of the National Assembly, 2002–2004

Woerth was elected Deputy for

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

. 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 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 under President Jacques Chirac. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Un ...

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 Amand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a French retired 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 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 (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

. 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 from 2016 to 2024. He is a member of The Republicans (LR), which he led from 2017 to 2019 follow ...

. 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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA; French: ''accord économique et commercial global'', AECG; German: ''Umfassendes Wirtschafts- und Handelsabkommen'') is a free-trade agreement between Canada and the European Union and its ...

(CETA) with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. 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 Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

and criticized the Republicans’ candidate

Valérie Pécresse Valérie Anne Émilie Pécresse (; Birth name, née Roux ; 14 July 1967) is a French politician who has been the President of the Regional Council (France), President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France since 2015. A member of The Republic ...

. 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.

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 nonprofit French Investigative journalism, investigative online newspaper created in 2008 by Edwy Plenel, former editor-in-chief of . It is published in French language, French, English language, English, and ...

revealed a report where Claire Thibout, an ex-accountant working for Liliane Bettencourt, accused Nicolas Sarkozy and Woerth of receiving illegal campaign donations in 2007, in cash. The '' Canard enchaîné'' 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 from Hauts-de-France Budget ministers of France Civil service ministers of France 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 Deputies of the 16th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Renaissance (French political party) politicians