Hélène Missoffe ( Hélène de Mitry; 15 June 1927 – 22 January 2015) was a French

Union of Democrats for the Republic The Union for the Defence of the Republic ( ), after 1968 renamed Union of Democrats for the Republic ( ), commonly abbreviated UDR, was a Gaullism, Gaullist List of political parties in France, political party of France that existed from 1967 to ...

later the

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; 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 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...

politician. She was elected three times as a deputy 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 repr ...

between 1974 and 1986, firstly to represent during the fifth and sixth legislatures of the National Assembly and lastly to represent the

Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.< ...

constituency at the eighth National Assembly legislature. Missoffe served as a senator in the

French Senate The Senate (, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly (France), National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. It is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' and ...

for Val-d'Oise from 1986 to 1995 and was a vice-president of the

Regional Council of Île-de-France The Regional Council of Île-de-France () is the regional council of Île-de-France, France's most populous administrative region. Made up of 209 regional councillors elected for 6 years, it is headquartered in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, just north ...

. She was appointed

Officier de la Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

Personal background

On 15 June 1927, Missoffe was born in the

9th arrondissement of Paris The 9th arrondissement of Paris (''IXe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as (; "ninth"). The arrondissement, called Opéra, is located on the right bank of th ...

. She was the daughter of the Count Emmanuel de Mitry and Marguerite de Wendel, who was a descendant of the Wendel family. Missoffe was a Catholic. She was married to François Missoffe, the politician who was the former Ambassador of France to Japan, with whom she had eight children, including the politician Françoise de Panafieu. On 22 January 2015, Missoffe died in Paris. Her funeral took place five days later in

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inf� ...

Career

Missoffe was a member of the

and later the

political party. She became a deputy for to be part of the fifth legislature of the

on 26 July 1974, replacing her husband whose temporary mission as

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, ...

was extended past half a year. Missoffe served as a member on the Committee on Cultural, Family and Social Affairs from 1974 to 1977, and was appointed the State Secretary to the Minister of Health and Social Security, by President

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 ...

on 1 April 1977. She remained in the post until 31 March 1978 prior to the dissolution of the Second Barre Government, and had been a councillor for Paris. Missoffe was appointed the Union of Democrats for the Republic's national secretary for women's action and then as its national delegate overseeing cultural, family and social affairs in 1975. At the

1978 French legislative election Legislative elections were held in France on 12 and 19 March 1978 to elect the sixth National Assembly of France, National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic. The election results were a victory for conservatives. The results ...

on 19 March 1978, Missoffe was elected to serve the 24th district of Paris in the sixth legislature of the National Assembly that first convened on 3 April 1978 and dissolved on 22 May 1981. She again served as a member on the Committee on Cultural, Family and Social Affairs between 1978 and 1981. Missoffe won reelection to represent the 24th district of Paris in the seventh National Assembly legislature at the

1981 French legislative election Legislative elections were held in France on 14 and 21 June 1981, to elect the seventh National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. The elections were called after François Mitterrand won the 1981 presidential elections and subsequently dissolved ...

held on 21 June 1981. As before, she was a member of the Committee on Cultural, Family and Social Affairs and remained a representative of her district until 4 January 1986. In 1981, Missoffe was elected councillor of the

, serving as one of its vice-presidents from 1982 to 1986. She was made the Rally for the Republic's adviser for Paris in 1983 and was appointed chair of the Parliamentary Association for the Freedom of Education. Missoffe was elected to represent the

constituency at the eighth National Assembly legislature at the

1986 French legislative election Legislative elections were held in France on 16 March 1986 to elect the eighth National Assembly of France, National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic. Contrary to other legislative elections of the Fifth Republic, the electo ...

on 16 March 1986. She was a member of the

Foreign Affairs Committee Foreign Affairs Committee may refer to: * Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development * Canadian Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade * Foreign Affairs Committee of t ...

of which she was its secretary and served on the National Assembly delegation for planning. Missoffe resigned on 30 September 1986, after she was elected to the

representing the Val-d'Oise department. She was a member of the Social Affairs Committee, the Parliamentary Delegation for Demographic Problems and the National Committee for Retired and Elderly Persons. Missoffe stood down as a senator in September 1995, having decided not to stand for reelection. She made public speeches in support of bills to deal with unemployment and getting back into work and the formation of the French drug agency. Missoffe authored several articles in newspapers, and she was appointed

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Missoffe, Helene 1927 births 2015 deaths Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Rally for the Republic politicians Politicians from Paris Senators of Val-d'Oise Women members of the Senate (France) 20th-century French women politicians 21st-century French women politicians French senators of the Fifth Republic Women members of the National Assembly (France) Deputies of the 5th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 6th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 7th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 8th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Officers of the Legion of Honour