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Cécilia María Sara Isabel Attias ( Ciganer-Albéniz, formerly Martin and Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa; born 12 November 1957) was the second wife of French 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. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
until October 2007.


Background

Cecilia Attias was born Cécilia María Sara Isabel Ciganer-Albéniz. Her father, André (Aron) Ciganer, was a Moldovan immigrant born in
Bălți Bălți () is a city in Moldova. It is the second-largest city in terms of population, area and economic importance, after Chișinău. The city holds the status of municipiu. Sometimes called "the northern capital", it is a major industrial, cu ...
,
Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...
in 1898 of Russian-Jewish lineage. He left home at the age of 13, just before the First World War. Ciganer moved to Paris, where he became a furrier. In 1937, he converted to
Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and married Spanish- Belgian Diane Albéniz de Swert, a daughter of Alfonso Albéniz Jordana, a Spanish diplomat who played with
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
and FC Barcelona in the early 1900s. and a Belgian mother. Her maternal great-grandfather was the Spanish composer Isaac Albéniz.Buck, Joan Juliet, "Political Heartache", '' Vogue'', December 2007, page 180 Cécilia Sarkozy Attias has three older brothers: *Patrick Ciganer-Albeniz is a program executive officer of the Integrative Financial Management Program of
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
. *Christian Ciganer-Albéniz is a consultant for companies such as
Framatome Framatome () is a French nuclear reactor business. It is owned by Électricité de France (EDF) (80.5%) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (19.5%). The company first formed in 1958 to license Westinghouse's pressurized water reactor (PWR) designs ...
,
AXA Axa S.A. is a French multinational insurance corporation headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It also provides investment management and other financial services via its subsidiaries. As of 2024, it is the fourth largest financi ...
, Lagardère, Crédit Foncier,
Accor Accor S.A. is a French multinational hospitality company that owns, manages and franchises hotels, resorts and vacation properties. It is the largest hospitality company in Europe, and the sixth largest hospitality company worldwide. Accor ope ...
, and Aurel Conseil. *Ivan Antoine Ciganer-Albéniz Her mother's half-brothers and half-sisters, as well as their descendants, belong to a family of
Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
nobility: the Le Grelle family. Her maternal grandmother, Rosalie de Sweert (1901–1982), married Count Adelin Le Grelle in 1921 in
Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
. From this union two children were born, Count Richard Le Grelle (1921) and Countess Marie-Antoinette, who had four children with the Canadian ambassador Keith MacLellan. She studied piano (first prize in piano at
Conservatoire A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...
), and obtained a baccalauréat B, after studying for 13 years in a French religious institution, Sœurs de Lübeck. She enrolled at Panthéon-Assas University for law studies but abandoned them and went on to become a parliamentary assistant to René Touzet. She also was a fitting model for Schiaparelli, the French fashion house, and worked for a public-relations company.


Political life

When her husband was a minister, Cécilia Sarkozy had an office next to his, serving as his close adviser. In 2002, she was appointed to the Office of the Ministry of the Interior. In 2005 she was appointed Chief-of-Staff for the UMP Party. Cécilia Sarkozy visited
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
twice in July 2007 to visit
Muammar al-Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his assassination by Libyan rebel forces in 2011. He came to power ...
and helped in securing the release of five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor who had all spent years on
Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
's death row after allegedly being tortured into confessing to infecting Libyan babies with HIV. The French left asked for Cécilia Sarkozy to be heard by the Parliamentary Commission expected to be created in October 2007 concerning the terms of the release of the six, as she had played an "important role" in their liberation according to
Pierre Moscovici Pierre Moscovici (, ; born 16 September 1957) is a French politician who served as the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs from 2014 to 2019. He previously served as Minister of Finance from 2012 to ...
( PS).France-Libye: la gauche réclame des explications à Cécilia Sarkozy
, in ''
Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...
'' (with AFP), 14 August 2007
The release process is described in the book Notes from Hell from the perspective of one of the medics, Valya Cherveniashka.


Personal life

Cécilia Ciganer-Albéniz moved in with the popular French TV host Jacques Martin in 1983. They married on 10 August 1984. The wedding took place in
Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...
at the town hall, and
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. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...
, then the mayor of Neuilly, conducted the wedding. The Martins had two daughters, Judith Martin (b. 22 August 1984) and Jeanne-Marie Martin (b. 8 June 1987). She has two grandsons, Augustin and Louis as well as a granddaughter Diane Élisabeth, born of her daughter Jeanne-Marie. In 1987, Sarkozy, who was married to his first wife at the time, met Cécilia Martin again and has said he felt "struck by lightning". Other sources, however, state that Sarkozy fell in love with the bride on her wedding day. Cécilia Martin left her husband to live with Sarkozy in 1988 and obtained a divorce three months later. Once Sarkozy had himself obtained a divorce in 1996, they married in Neuilly on 23 October 1996. The witnesses were Martin Bouygues and billionaire businessman Bernard Arnault. Six months later, on 23 April 1997, Cécilia Sarkozy gave birth to the couple's only child, Louis. Nicolas Sarkozy had two sons from his first marriage. Nicolas Sarkozy once declared that Cécilia Sarkozy was his "strength and is
Achilles' heel An Achilles' heel (or Achilles heel) is a weakness despite overall strength, which can lead to downfall. While the mythological origin refers to a physical vulnerability, idiomatic references to other attributes or qualities that can lead to do ...
". Nicolas Sarkozy wrote in his 2005 book, ''Testimony'', "Today, Cécilia and I are reunited for good, for real, doubtless for ever ... are not able and do not know how to separate from each other." He has said his wife is his "true soulmate" and "the person without whom nothing I do would be possible". In July 2007, he said, "At the end of day, my only real worry is Cécilia." Rumors had circulated since Sarkozy's election as president in May 2007 that the couple had separated, and further rumors surfaced in the French media in October 2007 that they were soon expected to announce their plans to divorce. On 18 October 2007 the Élysée Palace released a statement declaring that the Sarkozys "announce their separation by mutual consent". Shortly afterwards, the palace corrected the separation announcement by stating that the Sarkozys had actually officially divorced. On 19 October 2007, an interview with Cécilia Sarkozy was published on the front page of '' L'Est Républicain'', a regional French newspaper. In it, she admitted that she had run away with her lover, Richard Attias, in 2005 ("I met someone, I fell in love, I left") and that though she eventually returned to Sarkozy, they were unable to repair their marriage. "What happened to me has happened to millions of people: one day you no longer have your place in the couple. The couple is no longer the essential thing of your life. It no longer functions; it no longer works." She married Attias, Executive Chairman of The Experience, an events management company, on 23 March 2008, at
Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commerce, commercial buildings covering between 48th Street (Manhattan), 48th Street and 51st Street (Manhattan), 51st Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. The 14 original Art De ...
in New York.


See also

* HIV trial in Libya


References


External links


Cecilia Maria AttiasCécilia Attias Foundation for Women
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attias, Cecilia 1957 births Living people People from Boulogne-Billancourt Spouses of presidents of France French Roman Catholics French people of Belgian descent French people of Catalan descent French people of Moldovan descent French people of Spanish descent French people of Russian-Jewish descent Sarkozy family Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni People named in the Panama Papers