Francois Bayrou
| François Bayrou | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Mayor of Pau | |
|
Assumed office 4 April 2014 |
|
| Preceded by | Martine Lignières-Cassou |
| Leader of the Democratic Movement | |
|
Assumed office 2 December 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Leader of the Union for French Democracy | |
|
In office 25 February 1998 – 30 November 2007 |
|
| Preceded by | François Léotard |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Minister of National Education | |
|
In office 29 March 1993 – 4 June 1997 |
|
| Prime Minister |
Édouard Balladur Alain Juppé |
| Preceded by | Jack Lang |
| Succeeded by | Claude Allègre |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
25 May 1951 Bordères, France |
| Political party |
Union for French Democracy (1979–2007) Centre of Social Democrats (1979–1995) Democratic Force (1995–1998) Democratic Movement (2007–present) |
| Alma mater | University Bordeaux Montaigne |
| Website | Official website |
François Bayrou (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa bajʁu]) is a French centrist politician and the president of the Democratic Movement, who was a candidate in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 French presidential elections.
François Bayrou was born on 25 May 1951, in Bordères, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, a village located between Pau and Lourdes. He is the oldest son of farmers Calixte Bayrou and Emma Sarthou. He first went to secondary school in Pau, then he transferred to Bordeaux.
François Bayrou has six children from his marriage (his wife Élisabeth "Babette" was 19 years old at the time of marriage). The family still lives on the farm in Bayrou's birthplace. Bayrou studied literature at university, and at the age of 23, sat the "agrégation", the highest qualifying level for teachers in senior high schools and universities in France. His father was killed in a tractor accident at that time.
Prior to embarking on his political career, Bayrou taught history in Béarn in the French Pyrenees. He is the author of over a dozen books on politics and history, including one on King Henry IV of France. François Bayrou's hobby is raising horses. A practising Roman Catholic, he is nonetheless a fervent supporter of France's system of laïcité.
Bayrou, a member of the Centre of Social Democrats (CDS), the Christian-democratic component of the Union for French Democracy (UDF) confederation, was elected in the General Council of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in 1982, then in the French National Assembly four years later. After the victory of the RPR/UDF coalition in the 1993 legislative election, he became Education Minister in the cabinet led by Edouard Balladur. In this post, he proposed a reform allowing local authorities to subsidise private schools. This caused massive protests and was quashed by the Constitutional Council.
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