Philippe Séguin (; 21 April 1943 – 7 January 2010) was a French political figure who was President 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 ...

from 1993 to 1997 and President of the

Cour des Comptes The ''Cour des Comptes'' (, "Court of Accounts") is France's supreme audit institution, under French law an administrative court. As such, it is independent from the legislative and executive branches of the French Government. However, the 1946 ...

of France from 2004 to 2010. He entered the Court of Financial Auditors in 1970, but he began a political career in the Neo-Gaullist party RPR. In 1978, he was elected to the

as a deputy for the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

''. He was Mayor of

Épinal Épinal (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, so ...

between 1983 and 1997. Representing the social tradition of the

Gaullism Gaullism ( ) is a Politics of France, 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 France, President of the Fifth French Republic. ...

, he was Minister of Social Affairs 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 cabinet, from 1986 to 1988. After Chirac's defeat at the 1988 presidential election, he allied with Charles Pasqua and criticized the abandonment of Gaullist doctrine by the RPR executive. He accused

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 ...

and

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 ...

of wanting an alignment on liberal and pro-European policies. In 1992, he played a leading role in the No campaign against the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Communities, ...

. On the eve of the vote he opposed President

François Mitterrand François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former First ...

in a televised debate. As president of the

from 1993 to 1997, he supported the winning candidacy of Jacques Chirac at the 1995 presidential election. He inspired the theme of Chirac's campaign which was named "the social fracture". Their relations deteriorated when he took the lead of the RPR, after the right-wing defeat at the 1997 legislative election. He failed to change the name of the party to "The Rally". He criticized the ascendancy of President Chirac within the party, refusing to be the leader of a "Chirac's fan-club". He resigned in 1999 just before the European elections, leaving his deputy

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 ...

in charge. As the RPR's official candidate, he lost the 2001 mayoral election in Paris, mostly due to a heavily criticized campaign marred by gaffes and controversy. Refusing the merger of the Neo-Gaullist party with the right-wing classical forces in 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 ...

, he quit politics in 2002. He died at the age of 66 on 7 January 2010 from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

."Philippe Séguin est mort"
''

Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'', 7 January 2010 (in French).

Political career

*President of the Court of Audit of France : 2004-2010 (Death). Governmental function *Minister of Social Affairs and Employment : 1986–1988. Electoral mandates ''National Assembly'' *President of the

National Assembly of France 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 ...

: 1993–1997. *Vice-president of the

: 1981–1986. *Member of the

for

(1st constituency) : 1978–1986 / 1988–2002. Elected in 1978, reelected in 1981, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1997. ''Regional Council'' *Vice-president of the Regional Council of

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

: 1979–1983. *Regional councillor of LorraineLorraine : 1979–1986. ''Municipal Council'' *Mayor of

: 1983–1997 (resigned). *Municipal councillor of Épinal : 1983–1997 (resigned). *Councillor of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

: 2001–2002 (resigned). Political functions *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 ...

: 1997–1999 (resigned).

References

External links

Official page
- Daily Telegraph obituary
Death of Philippe Séguin, Radio France Internationale in English
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seguin, Philippe 1943 births 2010 deaths Politicians from Tunis Union for the New Republic politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Rally for the Republic politicians Government ministers of France Presidents of the National Assembly (France) 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 Deputies of the 9th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 10th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 11th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Mayors of places in Grand Est Sciences Po Aix alumni École nationale d'administration alumni Judges of the Court of Audit (France) Legion of Honour refusals Officers of the National Order of Quebec Grand Cross of the Ordre national du Mérite