Michel d'Ornano (12 July 1924 – 8 March 1991) was a French politician.

Early life

Count d'Ornano was born in Paris on 12 July 1924. He was a son of Count Guillaume d'Ornano, a co-founder of Lancôme in 1935 (which was acquired by L'Oreal in 1964). His younger brother was Count Hubert d'Ornano. He was a descendant of both

Marie Walewska Marie Walewska, Countess Walewska (; ; 7 December 1786 – 11 December 1817) was a Polish noblewoman in the court of Napoleon I who used her influence to sway the emperor towards the creation of an independent Polish state. In her later years ...

and Philippe Antoine d'Ornano.

Career

He was a founder of the perfume houses of Jean d'Albret and, with his brother Hubert, Orlane. Count d'Ornano began his political career as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Deauville Deauville () is a communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its port, harbour, Race track, race course, marinas, con ...

in 1962. He served as president of the General Councils of both Calvados and Basse-Normandie before going on to represent the fourth district of Calvados in the

Parliament of France The French Parliament (, ) is the bicameral parliament of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the Senate (), and the National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at separate locations in Paris: the Senate meets in the ...

; in that body he sat first as an Independent Republican and later with 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 ...

. He served in numerous cabinet positions under

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 ...

, including as Secretary of State for Ecology, the

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

, and Minister of Industry.

Personal life

In September 1960, D'Ornano was married to Anne de Contades, a daughter of the Marquis de Contades of the Château de Montgeoffroy in Anjou, France, and the Marquise de la Rozière of

San Ángel San Ángel is a ''Colonia (Mexico), colonia'' (neighborhood) located in the southwest of Mexico City in Álvaro Obregón, Mexico City, Álvaro Obregón borough. Historically it was a rural community called Tenanitla in the pre-Hispanic period. It ...

, Mexico. Her maternal grandmother was the Hon. Mrs. Fanny Lawrence Vernon of Sudbury Hall,

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

, England. She was later installed as mayor of Deauville. They were the parents of Catherine d'Ornano and Jean-Guillaume d'Ornano. Count d'Ornano died on 8 March 1991 in

Garches Garches () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department, in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. Garches has remained largely residential, with a population of 17,898 ...

after he was struck by a car near his home in the Paris suburb of

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a French commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthie ...

. After his death, in 1991, she became president of the Regional Council of Calvados.

Legacy

The Stade Michel d'Ornano in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ornano, Michel d' 1924 births 1991 deaths Politicians from Paris Politicians of the French Fifth Republic Ministers of culture of France French people of Polish descent Mayors of places in Normandy People from Deauville French people of Corsican descent Ministers of the environment of France Lycée Carnot alumni Road incident deaths in France