Michèle Yvette Marie-Thérèse Jeanne Honorine Alliot-Marie (; born 10 September 1946), known in France as MAM, is a French

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

(MEP) from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. She is a member of the Republicans, part of the

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...

. A member of all right-wing governments formed in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, she was the first woman in France to hold the portfolios of

Defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

(2002–2007), the Interior (2007–2009) and

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...

(2010–2011); she has also been in charge of Youth and Sports (1993–1995) and

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

(2009–2010), and was granted the honorary rank of

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

in her last two offices. She resigned from government in 2011 due to her position during the Tunisian Revolution; one year later, in the

2012 French legislative election Legislative elections were held in France on 10 and 17 June 2012 (and on other dates for small numbers of voters outside metropolitan France) to select the members of the 14th National Assembly of France, National Assembly of the Fifth French R ...

s, she lost her seat as Deputy (MP) for the 6th Constituency of

Pyrénées-Atlantiques Pyrénées-Atlantiques (; Gascon language, Gascon Occitan language, Occitan: ''Pirenèus Atlantics''; ) is a Departments of France, department located in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine in the southwest corner of metropolitan ...

. She became a

member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

in 2014. She remains Deputy Mayor of

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; ,Donibane Lohitzune
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as well as Vice President of the National Council of The Republicans. Alliot-Marie was the last President of 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 ...

(1999–2002), an incarnation of the Gaullist party, and was the first woman to chair a major French political party. She has remained a leading

Gaullist Gaullism ( ) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle withdrew French forces from t ...

after the RPR merged into the UMP and was seen as a rival to

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

before and after his election as president in 2007, although direct confrontation was always avoided. Alliot-Marie is a

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

scholar. Her companion is Patrick Ollier, Minister in charge of Relations with Parliament in the Fillon II government; both were ministers simultaneously for a few months in 2010–2011, the first time a couple ever sat in a French government.

Early life

Michèle Marie was born on 10 September 1946 in

Villeneuve-le-Roi Villeneuve-le-Roi () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The early 19th-century French orientalist Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (1780–1831) was born in Villeneuve-le-Roi on the boat that a ...

(then in the

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () is a former department of France, which encompassed the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris. Its prefecture was Versailles and its administrative number was 78. Seine-et-Oise was disbanded in ...

department, now in the

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a ...

department since 1968). Her father is Bernard Marie (1918–2015), who was a famous international rugby referee, the

French National Assembly 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 ...

Deputy for the Pyrénées-Atlantiques' 4th constituency (1967–1981, department named Basses-Pyrénées until 1969), and the Mayor of

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

(1977–1991); and her mother is Renée Leyko and is of Polish descent. She attended the High School of the Folie Saint James in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

and then began her studies at the Paris Law Faculty in the now-defunct

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 ...

, continuing at the

Faculté des lettres de Paris The Faculty of Humanities of Paris (in French: ''Faculté des Lettres de Paris''), commonly known as the ''Sorbonne'', was one of the four faculties of the University of Paris, refounded in 1896, and an independent entity from 1808 to 1896, based ...

in that same university. After then-

Education Minister An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

Edgar Faure's university reforms (known as ') were implemented in 1968, she continued her studies in

private law Private law is that part of a legal system that governs interactions between individual persons. It is distinguished from public law, which deals with relationships between both natural and artificial persons (i.e., organizations) and the st ...

, and

legal history Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it has changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilizations and operates in the wider context of social history. Certain jurists and his ...

at both Panthéon-Assas University, earning a

Doctor of Law A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree there in 1973 with her thesis ''Salarié actionnaire'' (English: "Employee Shareholders"), and Pantheon-Sorbonne University, where she earned a Doctorate in political science in 1982 and defended her thesis ''Décisions politiques et structures administratives'' (English: "Political Decisions and Administrative Structures"). During her university years, she was a member of the

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

student union '' UNI''. She also holds a ''Certificat d'aptitude à la profession d'avocat'' (English: "Certificate of Aptitude for Practicing Law"), also known as a CAPA; a certificate in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n laws and economics; and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...

. Before her career in politics, she was a senior lecturer at the Paris-I University (Panthéon-Sorbonne), and also spent some time practicing law. She is also a recipient of the Faculty of Law and Economics.

University, private sector, and early political career

During her university studies, Alliot-Marie (then still known as Michèle Marie) began having a relationship with her then-law professor , who was also chief of staff to then-

(1968-1969) Edgar Faure. Marie and Alliot married in 1971, thus gaining her frequent access to academic and corporate environments; this also led to a name change from Michèle Marie to her name since then, Michèle Alliot-Marie. She was first assistant at Panthéon-Assas University and then the University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne between 1970 and 1984, before becoming a ''

Maître de conférences The following summarizes basic academic ranks in the France, French higher education system. Most academic institutions are state-run and most academics with permanent positions are French Civil Service, civil servants, and thus are Academic tenur ...

'' (equal to an associate professor) in

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...

from 1984, a position she left when she got elected to the

in 1986. In 1972, she became a technical adviser to Edgar Faure, who was by then the Minister of Social Affairs until 1976; and then she was a technical adviser to then-Secretary of State for Universities Jean-Pierre Soisson. She then became an adviser to then- Minister of Departments and Overseas Territories Bernard Stasi from 1973 to 1974, and then to then- Secretary of State for Tourism in 1974. She then became the Chief of Staff to then-Secretary of State and Minister of Universities Alice Saunier-Seité from 1976 to 1978 before working in the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

as an administrator of CEO of the company ''Uta-Indemnité'' between 1979 and 1985. She also practiced as a lawyer during this time.

Career

Local politics

Alliot-Marie started her electoral career in 1983 as Municipal Councillor for the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

-area village of Ciboure (in the former province of

Labourd Labourd (; ; ; ) is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques '' département'' of Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. It is one of the traditional Basque provinces, and identified as one of the territorial component pa ...

and now in the

department), located south of her father's political base of

, near

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; ,Donibane Lohitzune
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; she stayed on until 1988. In 1989, she was elected to another council, this time in Biarritz, alongside her father. In 1990, as part of the municipal majority behind the first Deputy Mayor Didier Borotra of the UDF- CDS, she passed draft legislation in opposition to build a hotel-casino on the front of the main beach of the town, which caused a collapse of the council. Early municipal elections in 1991 were won by Didier Borotra, who united the local UDF, two elected

Socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

, and

Basque nationalists Basque nationalism ( ; ; ) is a form of nationalism that asserts that Basques, an ethnic group Indigenous peoples of Europe, indigenous to the western Pyrenees, are a nation and promotes the political unity of the Basques, today scattered bet ...

, who provided additional support. She left the council at the same time that her father was defeated as Mayor. She then served as Mayor of Saint-Jean-de-Luz from 1995 until 2002, and as First Deputy Mayor since then. She was also a member and a Vice President of the General Council of

between 1994 and 2001.

National politics

Alliot-Marie was elected to 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 ...

to represent

in 1986 as a member of the

(RPR). She has been seating in the Assembly ever since, except when she sat in the government; this is due to the French law on '' Cumul des mandats'' (literally: "accumulation of mandates") that prohibit cabinet ministers from simultaneously serving as deputies in the

; her

alternate Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an alternative to mainstream superh ...

as Deputy was Daniel Poulou, who served from 1993 to 1995 and again from 2002 to 2011 when she served as Cabinet Minister. She served as Secretary of State (junior minister) for Schools under the Minister of National Education in

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 ...

's second government from 1986 to 1988 and as Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports in

Édouard Balladur Édouard Balladur (; born 2 May 1929) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France under François Mitterrand from 29 March 1993 to 17 May 1995. He unsuccessfully ran for president in the 1995 French presidential election, co ...

's government from 1993 to 1995. From 1989 to 1993, she was a

as a member of the

political group A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...

European Democratic Alliance.

President of the RPR

In 1999, "MAM" entered the challenge for the presidency of the RPR against Chirac's candidate and, to most insiders' surprise, won by a landslide, becoming the first woman to lead a major French political party. She remained President of the party until 2002 when it merged with the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...

(UMP), a merger she opposed at first.

Defense ministership

Alliot-Marie was Minister of Defense during Jacques Chirac's second presidential term, France's first woman in this position. Between May and June 2002, she was also in charge of

Veterans' Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

. ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'' magazine declared her the 57th most powerful woman in the world in 2006 and the 11th in 2007. She kept the Defense portfolio in

Jean-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005 under President Jacques Chirac. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Un ...

's three governments and in

Dominique de Villepin Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac. In his career working at the Ministry ...

's government. She remained a leading Gaullist after the RPR merger into the UMP, and created her own movement within the party, Le Chêne (The Oak). Although she publicly considered competing with

for the UMP nomination in the 2007 presidential election, she ruled herself out of the running in January 2007 and endorsed Sarkozy. Sarkozy and Alliot-Marie had a history of disagreements in the party's National Council.

Interior and Justice ministerships

After Sarkozy's election as president, Alliot-Marie was appointed Minister of the Interior, the Overseas and Local Communities in François Fillon's government, being the first woman to hold the position. Two years later, after the

2009 European Parliament election The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Member of the European Parliament, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent s ...

, she was appointed Minister of Justice and Liberties and Keeper of the Seals and was bestowed the title of Minister of State, which gave her the most senior rank in the government after the Prime Minister. She was made a Vice President of the UMP the same year.

Foreign Affairs ministership

In November 2010, Alliot-Marie was appointed Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, remaining Minister of State and being again the first female holder of the office. When civil unrest began in Tunisia in early 2011, Alliot-Marie came under scrutiny for going on vacation there during the events, as she had frequently done in the past. She further caused controversy when she told the National Assembly that French riot police could be offered to help restore order; she was specifically criticised for allegedly sending teargas to Tunisia as late as January 2011. Before leaving office, she proposed sending

paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

s to quell the protests. Her situation embarrassing the government, she resigned as Foreign Minister on 27 February 2011 after only a few months in office. She was succeeded by outgoing Defense Minister and former Prime Minister

Alain Juppé Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced major strikes that paralysed the c ...

. In the

s, she lost her seat as Deputy (MP) for the 6th constituency of

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

candidate in the second round, 48.38% to Alaux's 51.62% share of the vote.

Political career

Ministerial offices * Secretary of State for Education: 1986–1988. * Minister of Youth and Sports: 1993–1995. * Minister of Defense: 2002–2007. * Minister of the Interior, Overseas Territories and Territorial Communities : 2007–2009. * Keeper of the Seals, Minister of State, Minister of Justice and Freedoms: 2009–2010. * Minister of State, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs: 2010–2011 (resignation). Electoral mandates ''European parliament'' * Member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

: 1989-1992 (resignation); since 2014. Elected in 1989, 2014. ''National Assembly'' * Deputy to the

for

(6th constituency): elected in March 1986 (became minister in March 1986) / 1988–1993 / elected in March 1993 (became minister in 1993) / 1995–2002 (became minister in 2002) / reelected in 2007 (remained a minister) / 2011-2012 (defeated). Elected in 1986, reelected in 1988, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2007. ''General Council'' * Vice President of the General Council of

: 1994–2001. * General Councillor of

: 1994–2001. ''Municipal Council'' * Mayor of

Saint-Jean-de-Luz Saint-Jean-de-Luz (; ,Donibane Lohitzune
Auñamendi Encyclopedia, Auñamendi Eu ...

: 1995-2002 (resignation). Reelected in 2001. * Deputy Mayor of Saint-Jean-de-Luz : Since 2002. Reelected in 2008. * Municipal Councillor of Saint-Jean-de-Luz: since 1995, reelected in 2001, 2008. * Municipal Councillor of

: 1989–1991. * Municipal Councillor of Ciboure: 1983–1988. Party political offices * President of the

: 1999–2002 (party dissolved). Elected in 1999. * Vice President of the

: 2009–2012. * Vice President of The Republicans National Council: since 2015.

Controversy

In 1972, a guard prevented Alliot-Marie from entering the National Assembly chamber because she was wearing pants; women were not allowed to wear pants to work in white-collar government jobs until the late 1960s and not in the Assembly until some years later. In early 2009, Alliot-Marie received an anonymous death threat accompanied by a 9mm-calibre bullet. In 2016, French investigating judge Sabine Kheris requested that a case involving

, Michel Barnier and Michèle Alliot-Marie be referred to the Court of Justice of the Republic. These former ministers were suspected of having allowed the exfiltration of the mercenaries responsible for the attack on the Bouaké camp in 2004, killing nine French soldiers. The operation was allegedly intended to justify a response operation against the Laurent Gbagbo government in the context of the 2004 crisis in

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

Personal life

Michèle Marie married anthropologist in 1971, taking the name Michèle Alliot-Marie. They divorced in 1984. In the French media, she is nicknamed "MAM". Since 1988, her life partner has been Patrick Ollier, who briefly served as President of the National Assembly in 2007 and subsequently chaired the Assembly's Economy Committee. In November 2010, he was appointed Minister in charge of Relations with Parliament in the Fillon II government. Both were ministers simultaneously for a few months in 2010–2011, the first time a couple ever sat in a French government. Due to her higher public profile, he has been nicknamed "Patrick Ollier-Marie" or "POM".

Decorations and distinctions

Decorations

* Commander of the Order of the Star of Anjouan (

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

) * Commander of the Order of Ivory Merit (

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

) *

Officer of the Order of the Republic (Egypt) * GAB Order of the Equatorial Star - Commander BAR

Commander of the Order of the Equatorial Star (

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

) *

Masterful First Class Fins (

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

)

Distinctions

* Prix de la révélation politique de l'année (English: "Price for Political Revelation of the Year") 1999 - Trombinoscope - being elected as President of the

party * Ministre de l'année (English: "Minister of the Year") 2005 - Trombinoscope

References

Biography

Publications

* * * * * * * *

External links

Profile at French National Assembly Website
, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Alliot-Marie, Michele 1946 births Living people People from Villeneuve-le-Roi French people of Polish descent Rally for the Republic politicians Union for a Popular Movement politicians Gaullism, a way forward for France Foreign ministers of France French interior ministers Ministers of defence of France Ministers of justice of France Ministers of the overseas of France MEPs for South-West France 2014–2019 Women mayors of places in France Female defence ministers Female foreign ministers Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University alumni Academic staff of Pantheon-Sorbonne University The Republicans (France) MEPs Women government ministers of France Women members of the National Assembly (France) Deputies of the 13th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Female interior ministers Female justice ministers French women diplomats MEPs for France 1989–1994 20th-century women MEPs for France 21st-century women MEPs for France