*** Welcome to piglix ***

François Léotard

François Léotard
François Léotard 1988.jpg
French Minister of Defence
In office
1993–1995
President François Mitterrand
Prime Minister Édouard Balladur
Preceded by Pierre Bérégovoy
Succeeded by Charles Millon
French Minister of Culture
In office
1986–1988
President François Mitterrand
Prime Minister Jacques Chirac
Preceded by Jack Lang
Succeeded by Jack Lang
Personal details
Born (1942-03-26) 26 March 1942 (age 74)
Cannes, France
Nationality French
Alma mater ÉNA

François Gerard Marie Léotard (born 26 March 1942, in Cannes) is a retired French politician. Singer and actor Philippe Léotard (1940–2001) was his brother.

Member of the Republican Party, the liberal-conservative component of the Union for French Democracy (UDF), he appeared in the foreground of the political scene in the 1980s. He led a new generation of right-wing politicians, the "renovationmen", who opposed to the old right-wing leaders Jacques Chirac and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

In 1981, he was selected to be one of the first Young Leaders of the French-American Foundation.

Culture Minister, from 1986 to 1988, he sold the main public TV channel TF1. He returned in the cabinet as Defense Minister, from 1993 to 1995. Supporting the candidacy of Edouard Balladur in the 1995 presidential election, he was dismissed after Chirac's election. Elected president of the UDF in 1996, he could not prevent the split of this confederation two years later with Alain Madelin's secession. This and the party's poor showing in the 1998 regional elections prompted his resignation. After a mission in Macedonia in 2001 as representative of the European Union, he retired from politics. In 2003, he created together with other prominent European personalities the Medbridge Strategy Center, whose goal is to promote dialogue and mutual understanding between Europe and the Middle-East. He has since written several books.

Governmental functions

Minister of State, minister of Defence : 1993–1995.

Minister of Culture and Communication : 1986–1988.

Electoral mandates

National Assembly of France


...
Wikipedia

...