François Gérard Marie Léotard (; 26 March 1942 – 25 April 2023) was a French politician. Singer and actor Philippe Léotard was his brother. A member of the Republican Party, the liberal-conservative component of the

Union for French Democracy The Union for French Democracy ( ; UDF) was a centre-right political party in France. The UDF was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over ...

(UDF), he appeared in the foreground of the political scene in the 1980s. He led a new generation of right-wing politicians, the "renovationmen", who opposed the old right-wing leaders

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

and

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...

. In 1981, he was selected to be one of the first ''Young Leaders'' of the French-American Foundation. His political career started with being elected as the mayor of

Fréjus Fréjus (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Var (department), Var Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It neighbours Saint-Raphaël, Var, Saint-Raphaël ...

in 1977. He served two terms as the deputy of Var. As culture minister from 1986 to 1988, he sold the main public TV channel

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

. He returned to the French cabinet as defense minister, from 1993 to 1995. Supporting the candidacy of Edouard Balladur in the 1995 presidential election, he was dismissed after Chirac's election. Elected president of the UDF in 1996, he could not prevent the split of this confederation two years later with

Alain Madelin Alain Madelin (; born 26 March 1946) is a French politician. Politician Madelin was minister of Industry in Prime Minister Jacques Chirac's cabinet from 1986 to 1988, a minister of Business in Prime Minister Édouard Balladur's cabinet f ...

's secession. This and the party's poor showing in the 1998 regional elections prompted his resignation. After a mission in

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

in 2001 as representative 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 ...

, he retired from politics. In 2003, he created together with other prominent European personalities the Medbridge Strategy Center, whose goal is to promote dialogue and mutual understanding between Europe and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. He later authored several books. Léotard died in

on 25 April 2023, at age 81.

Political career

Governmental functions Minister of state, minister of defence : 1993–1995. Minister of Culture and Communication : 1986–1988. Electoral mandates ''National Assembly of France'' Member of the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...

for Var : 1978–1986 (Became minister in 1986) / 1988–1993 (Became minister in 1993) / 1995–2001 (Resignation). Elected in 1978, reelected in 1981, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1995, 1997. ''Regional Council'' Regional councillor of

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (commonly shortened to PACA), also known as Région Sud, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France, located at the far southeastern point of the Metropolitan France, mainland. The main P ...

: 1998–2004. ''General Council'' General councillor of Var : 1979–1988 (Resignation). Reelected in 1985. ''Municipal Council'' Mayor of

: 1977–1997 (Resignation). Reelected in 1983, 1989, 1995. Municipal councillor of Fréjus : 1977–1997 (Resignation). Reelected in 1983, 1989, 1995. Political functions President of the UDF : 1996–1998. President of the Republican Party : 1982–1990 / 1995–1997.

Books

Léotard wrote also several books including non-fiction and a couple of novels: * Ma liberté (''My freedom'') published by Plon, 1995 * Pour l'honneur (''For honor'') published by B. Grasset, 1997 * La Couleur des femmes (''The colour of women'') published by Grasset & Fasquelle, 2002 * À mon frère qui n'est pas mort (''For my brother who is not dead'') published by Grasset & Fasquelle, 2003 * La vie mélancolique des méduses (''The melancholic life of Jellyfish'') published by Grasset & Fasquelle, 2005 * Ça va mal finir (''It's going to end badly'') published by Grasset & Fasquelle, 2008

Political career

Books

References

See also