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 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).

Biography

Minister and diplomat

In 1958, he became the director of Foreign Relations for the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

. He was the author of the foreword of the

Treaty of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was signe ...

. In 1963, he was named French ambassador to

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

and in 1967 he was appointed as one of the French European Commissioners, as a member of the

Rey Commission The Rey Commission is the European Commission that held office from 2 July 1967 to 30 June 1970. Its president was Jean Rey. Work It was the first commission of the merged European Communities. It was the successor to the Hallstein Commissio ...

, in 1970 followed by his membership of the

Malfatti Commission The Malfatti Commission is the European Commission that held office from 1 July 1970 to 21 March 1972. Its president was Franco Maria Malfatti. Work It was the successor to the Rey Commission and was succeeded by the Mansholt Commission. Th ...

. He was responsible for the accession negotiations of Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland, Denmark and Norway, and for assistance to developing countries. In 1973, he entered the government of

Pierre Messmer Pierre Joseph Auguste Messmer (; 20 March 191629 August 2007) was a French Gaullist politician. He served as Minister of Armies under Charles de Gaulle from 1960 to 1969 – the longest serving since Étienne François, duc de Choiseul under ...

as Secretary of State for Coopération, and was then named Secretary of State to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in the government formed by

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 ...

after the election of

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 ...

to the presidency of the French Republic in 1974. In 1976, J.F. Deniau became France's ambassador to Madrid, on the request of the new king

Juan Carlos Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until his abdication on 19 June 2014. In Sp ...

, with whom he had begun a friendship during regattas. Deniau would play an active advisory role to the king and the government during Spain's democratic transition following the death of General Franco. In September 1977, Jean-François Deniau was named Secretary of State to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the government of

Raymond Barre Raymond Octave Joseph Barre (; 12 April 192425 August 2007) was a French politician and economist. He was a Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs under three presidents ( Rey, Malfatti a ...

, then Minister of Foreign Commerce (1978), and finally Minister of Administrative Reform in Raymond Barre's last government (1981). From 1978 to 1981 and from 1986 to 1997 he was a member of the

French parliament The French Parliament (, ) is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the Senate (France), Senate (), and the National Assembly (France), National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessi ...

As a writer

He was elected to the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

on 9 April 1992. He died in Paris in 2007, aged 78.

Bibliography

* ''Le Bord des larmes'' (1955) * ''Le Marché commun'' (1958) * ''La mer est ronde'' (1975) * ''L'Europe interdite'' (1977) * ''Deux heures après minuit'' (1985) * ''La Désirade'' (1988) * ''Un héros très discret'' (1989) * ''L'Empire nocturne'' (1990) * ''Ce que je crois'' (1992) * ''Le Secret du Roi des serpents'' (1993) * ''Mémoires de sept vies. Tome 1 : Les temps aventureux'' (1994) * ''L'Atlantique est mon désert'' (1996) * ''Mémoires de sept vies. Tome 2 : Croire et oser'' (1997) * ''Le Bureau des secrets perdus'' (1998) * ''Tadjoura'' (1999) * ''Histoires de courage'' (2000) * ''La bande à Suzanne'' (2000) * ''L'île Madame'' (2001) * ''Dictionnaire amoureux de la mer'' (2002) * ''La gloire à 20 ans'' (2003) * ''La Double Passion écrire ou agir'' (2004) * ''La Lune et le miroir'' (2004) * ''Le Secret du roi des Serpents'' (2005) * ''Le grand jeu'' (2005)

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deniau, Jean-Francois 1928 births 2007 deaths Writers from Paris Independent Republicans politicians Republican Party (France) politicians Union for French Democracy politicians 20th-century French diplomats 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists Politicians of the French Fifth Republic Government ministers of France Ministers for administrative reform of France Secretaries of State of France Ambassadors of France to Mauritania Ambassadors of France to Spain Members of the Académie Française French European commissioners Sciences Po alumni École nationale d'administration alumni Grand Officers of the Legion of Honour Prix Maurice Genevoix winners Lycée Pasteur (Neuilly-sur-Seine) alumni French male essayists French male novelists 20th-century French essayists 21st-century French essayists 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French male writers European commissioners (1967–1970) European commissioners (1970–1972) European commissioners (1972–1973) European commissioners (1973–1977)