Ex officio member as former President of the
Republic
Born on 28 January 1955 in Paris
Education
Master's degree in private law (1978)
Qualified as a barrister (1981)
Postgraduate pre-PhD diploma in political sciences with distinction (dissertation on the Referendum of 27 April 1969)
Institut d'Etudes politiques de Paris [Paris Institute of Political Sciences] (1979-1981)
Career
Lawyer at the Paris Bar
1977: Municipal Councillor of Neuilly-sur-Seine
1983 / 2002: Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine
1986 / 1988: Vice President of the General Council of Hauts-de-Seine, responsible for education and culture.
1988 / 2002: Hauts-de-Seine Member of Parliament (6th constituency)
3 May 2000: Elected President of the Departmental Committee of the RPR [Rally for the Republic] for Hauts-de-Seine
1st April 2004: Elected President of the General Council for Hauts de Seine
1993 / 1995: Budget Minister
1994 / 1995: Minister of Communication
1993 / 1995: Government's spokesman
1988: National Secretary of the RPR responsible for Youth and Training
1989: National Secretary of the RPR responsible for Activities, Youth and Training
1989: Co-director of the union list for the European elections
1992 / 1993: RPR Deputy General Secretary, responsible for local branches
Since 1993: Member of the RPR's political bureau
10 July 1997: Coordinator and spokesman of the transition team
6 February 1998: RPR General Secretary
April 1999 / October 1999: Acting RPR President
1999: Head of the RPR-DL [Rally for the Republic-Liberal Democracy] for the European elections of June 1999
7 May 2000: Minister of the Interior, Internal Security and Local Freedoms in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's government, Prime Minister after Jacques Chirac's reelection
1st April 2004: Minister of State, Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's government, Prime Minister after Jacques Chirac's reelection
29 November 2004, he resigned after having been elected President of the UMP [Union for a Popular Movement] on 28 November 2004 with 85.1% of the votes
2 June 2005: Minister of State, Minister of the Interior and Town and Country Planning in Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin's government.
14 January 2007: Elected by the UMP's activists to be the candidate for presidential election
6 May 2007 / 15 May 2012: 23rd President of the Republic
Since May 2012: Ex officio member of the Constitutional Council
Distinctions and decorations
Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour
Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit
Grand Cross of the Royal Order of Carlos III (Spain)
Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom)
Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece (Spain)
Simon Wiesenthal Center tolerance prize (2003)
Humanitarian Award bestowed by the Elie Wiesel Foundation (2008).
World Statesman Award 2008 bestowed by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation
Works
Georges Mandel, le moine de la politique, Paris, Grasset, 1994
Au bout de la passion, l'équilibre, (Entretiens avec Michel Denisot), Paris, Albin Michel, 1995
Libre, Paris, Robert Laffont, 2001
La République, les religions, l'espérance (Entretiens avec Philippe Verdin et Thibaud Collin), Paris, Ed. du Cerf, 2004