Hélie Marie Auguste Jacques Bertrand Philippe de Noailles, 10th Duke of Noailles (born 16 July 1943, in

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

), simply known as Hélie de Noailles, is a French

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and trade representative. He was styled with the courtesy title '' duc d'Ayen'' (Duke of Ayen) from 1953 till 2009, and currently with the French title '' duc de Noailles'' (Duke of Noailles).

Early life and education

Hélie de Noailles was born in

as the only son and child of François de Noailles, 9th Duke of Noailles, and Charlotte de Caumont La Force. After studying at the private catholic school

Cours Hattemer Cours Hattemer is a French private, secular school. It is independent of the state, and has permission to follow its own teaching approach, which is structured and places great stress on repetition to drive home what has been learned. The school h ...

, 52, Rue de Londres in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, he subsequently obtained a Licentiate in Law from the

Paris Law Faculty The Faculty of Law of Paris (), called from the late 1950s to 1970 the Faculty of Law and Economics of Paris, is the second-oldest faculty of law in the world and one of the four and eventually five faculties of the University of Paris ("the S ...

of the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, and a diploma from the

Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris 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 ...

in 1967, before going on to the ''

École nationale d'administration The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...

'' where he graduated in 1969.

Career

He began his career in the diplomacy and he served with the economic cooperation group of the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

(1969–1972). After a short passage to the cabinet of the Prime Minister in the capacity as operations manager in 1972, de Noailles entered the

Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française The (; ORTF; , or French Radio and Television Broadcasting Office) was the national agency charged, between 1964 and 1975, with providing public radio and television in France. All programming, especially news broadcasts, were under strict cont ...

(ORTF) as a principal private secretary of the general president-directors Arthur Tells then Marceau Long, then of the president of FR 3, Claude Contamine. He then joined, in the capacity as technical adviser, the cabinets of Andre Rossi, Minister for the Foreign trade (1976–1978), then of

Jean-François Deniau Jean-François Deniau (; 31 October 1928 – 24 January 2007) was a French politician, diplomat, essayist and novelist. Until 1998, he was a member of the Union for French Democracy (UDF). Biography Minister and diplomat In 1958, he became ...

, Minister for the Foreign trade (1978–1981), then Minister for Administrative reforms (1981). The 1981 general election returned him to the Quay d'Orsay, where de Noailles became the second adviser of the French Embassy to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(1982–1986). On his return to France, he became director of the development of the Perrodo group (1986–1988), then general president-director of Kelt Énergie France (1988–1992), and finally director at the Maison Lazard and Co (1990–1996). (related to

Lazard Lazard Inc. (formerly known as Lazard Ltd and Lazard Frères & Co.) is a financial advisory and asset management firm that engages in investment banking, asset management and other financial services, primarily with institutional clients. It i ...

). De Noailles chaired the French Sons of the American Revolution, ''Société française des Fils de la Révolution Américaine'', and since 2001, he has been mayor of the commune of

Épinay-Champlâtreux Épinay-Champlâtreux () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. See also *Communes of the Val-d'Oise department The following is a list of the 183 Communes of France, communes of the Val-d'Oise Depart ...

, succeeding his father, who was mayor from 1932 to 2001.

Personal life

On 11 March 1972, de Noailles married Cécile Nadèje Marie Paule Gonin (born 25 November 1945, Boulogne-Billancourt) at

. Together they have three children, two daughters and one son: # Julie Marie-Christine Françoise (b. Boulogne-Billancourt 11 July 1972) # Marie-Alicia Eugénie Charlotte Blandine (b. Boulogne-Billancourt 8 May 1975) # Emmanuel Paul Louis Marie, Duke of Ayen (b. Washington, D.C. 14 February 1983). As heir apparent of the Dukedom of Noailles he was styled with the title

Duke of Ayen The title Duke of Ayen (''duc d'Ayen'') was created by King Louis XV on 12 March 1737 raising the former county of Ayen to a Dukedom. It was used as a courtesy title by the eldest son of the Duke of Noailles. The lineage of Dukes of Ayen are cousi ...

between 1953 till 2009. At the death of his father in 2009, he became the 10th

Duke of Noailles The title of Duke of Noailles is a French peerage created in 1663 for Anne de Noailles, Count of Ayen. History Noailles is the name of a prominent French noble family, derived from the castle of Noailles in the territory of Ayen, between Briv ...

. Hélie de Noailles is a Knight (Chevalier) of the National Order of Merit (Ordre national du Mérite) of France.

Ancestry

References

External links