Paul Mentré (1935–2020) was 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

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

Biography

Mentré is a graduate of the

École Polytechnique (, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris. The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...

. He holds a law degree and a DSS () in economics. After school, he worked for the ''Inspection générale des finances''. In 1971, he was named deputy director of the cabinet 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 ...

; he served until 1973. In 1973, he was appointed Director of Crédit National; he served until 1975. In 1975, he was named general delegate for energy and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ; he served in both roles until 1978. He was then financial advisor to the French embassy in Canada and the United States and administrator of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

and the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

; he served in this role until 1981. In 1986, he served as an advisor to René Thomas, then president of the

Banque Nationale de Paris Banque nationale de Paris () was a major French bank. It was formed in 1966 through the merger of Comptoir national d'escompte de Paris (CNEP, est. 1848) and Banque nationale pour le commerce et l'industrie (est. 1932). In 1999, it merged with ...

. In 1987, he was named Managing Director and then CEO of Crédit National, where he served until 1990. In 1992, he was appointed to head the board of SICAV Valréal, created in 1982 by

Paribas The Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas (, ), generally referred to from 1982 as Paribas (), was a French investment bank based in Paris. In May 2000, it merged with the Banque Nationale de Paris to form BNP Paribas. History Background In the ...

Groupe Banque Populaire Banque Populaire (, ) was a French group of cooperative banks, with origins in the European cooperative movement. In 2009, it merged with Groupe Caisse d'Épargne to form Groupe BPCE. History Groupe Banque Populaire started in 1878 with the ...

, and the

Caisse des Dépôts Caisse, a French word, may refer to: * Caisse Desjardins, an association of credit unions in Quebec * Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears, a road-bicycle racing team * Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a public pension fund in Quebec * Caisse ...

, succeeding André Battestini. In 1995, he was elected President of the

Communauté de communes Cœur Côte Fleurie Communauté de Communes Cœur Côte Fleurie is the intercommunal structure centered on the town of Deauville. It is located in the Calvados department in Normandy, northwestern France. It was created in 1974 as the district of Trouville-Deauville ...

succeeding Pierre Lepeudry; he served until 2008, when he was replaced by Philippe Augier.

Personal life

He died on January 3, 2020. He had four children
France Mentré
professor of

biostatistics Biostatistics (also known as biometry) is a branch of statistics that applies statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It encompasses the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experimen ...

, Agnès Mentré-Jacobs
Gilles Mentré
former MD at

Lazard Frères 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 is ...

and advisor to President

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 ...

, an
Arnaud Mentré
former

Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

of France in Boston. France Mentré was awarded th
Research Prize
from

Inserm The (Inserm, ) is the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research. History and organisation Inserm was created in 1964 as a successor to the French National Institute of Health. Inserm is the only public research institution ...

. Agnès Mentre is a former

banker who married Kenneth M. Jacobs and later became a film producer with credits including '' The Wrestler'', the

Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and author. Moore's work frequently addresses various Social issue, social, political, and economic topics. He first became publicly known for his award-winning debut ...

documentary ''

Fahrenheit 9/11 ''Fahrenheit 9/11'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed, written by, and starring Michael Moore. The subjects of the film are the presidency of George W. Bush, the Iraq War, and the media's coverage of the war. In the film, Moore state ...

'', and '' Wind River''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mentre, Paul 1935 births 2020 deaths 20th-century French politicians French bankers École Polytechnique alumni