Jean-Yves Le Drian Explained

Jean-Yves Le Drian
Office:Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs
Primeminister:Édouard Philippe
Jean Castex
Term Start:17 May 2017
Term End:20 May 2022
Predecessor:Jean-Marc Ayrault
Successor:Catherine Colonna
Office1:President of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe
Term Start1:17 May 2019
Term End1:27 November 2019
Predecessor1:Timo Soini
Successor1:David Zalkaliani
Office2:President of the Regional Council of Brittany
Term Start2:18 December 2015
Term End2:2 June 2017
Predecessor2:Pierrick Massiot
Successor2:Loïg Chesnais-Girard
Term Start3:2 April 2004
Term End3:29 June 2012
Predecessor3:Josselin de Rohan
Successor3:Pierrick Massiot
Office4:Minister of Defence
Primeminister4:Jean-Marc Ayrault
Manuel Valls
Bernard Cazeneuve
Term Start4:16 May 2012
Term End4:10 May 2017
Predecessor4:Gérard Longuet
Successor4:Sylvie Goulard
Office5:Secretary of State for the Sea
Primeminister5:Édith Cresson
Term Start5:16 May 1991
Term End5:2 April 1992
Predecessor5:Jacques Mellick
Successor5:Charles Josselin
Office6:Mayor of Lorient
Term Start6:4 July 1981
Term End6:2 April 1998
Predecessor6:Jean Lagarde
Successor6:Norbert Métairie
Office7:Member of the National Assembly
for Morbihan
Term Start7:12 June 1997
Term End7:19 June 2007
Predecessor7:Michel Godard
Successor7:Françoise Olivier-Coupeau
Constituency7:5th
Term Start8:3 April 1978
Term End8:1 April 1991
Predecessor8:Yves Allainmat
Successor8:Pierre Victoria
Constituency8:5th (1978–1986)
At-large (1986–1988)
5th (1988–1991)
Birth Date:30 June 1947
Birth Place:Lorient, France
Party:Renaissance (2022–present)
Otherparty:Socialist Party (1974–2018)
Independent (2018–2020)
Territories of Progress (2020-2022)
Alma Mater:University of Rennes 2

Jean-Yves Le Drian (in French pronounced as /ʒɑ̃ iv lə dʁijɑ̃/; born 30 June 1947) is a French politician who served as Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs in the governments of Prime Ministers Édouard Philippe and Jean Castex (2017–2022)[1] and as Minister of Defence under President François Hollande (2012–2017).[2] A former member of the Socialist Party, he had been an Independent from 2018 before founding Territories of Progress in 2020.

Family and education

Jean-Yves Le Drian was born in Lorient to working-class parents, Jean and Louisette, who were active members of the Young Christian Workers (Jeunesse ouvrière chrétienne, JOC). He completed his studies at the University of Rennes 2, where he was an activist for the Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (UNEF).[3] First interested by the Breton Democratic Union (UDB) in the early 1970s, he joined the Socialist Party (PS) in May 1974.[4]

Political career

Early functions

In 1977, he assumed the position of Deputy Mayor of Lorient; one year later, at the age of 30, he became a member of the National Assembly for Morbihan. He served until 1993 and then again from 1997 until 2007.[5] He became Mayor of Lorient in 1981 and retained the office until 1988; he also served as Secretary of State for the Sea under President François Mitterrand from 1991 to 1992.

In the 2004 regional elections, leading the Bretagne à gauche, Bretagne pour tous (PS-PCF-PRG-Les Verts-UDB) list, he won 58.66% of the vote in the runoff and a total of 58 seats in the Regional Council of Brittany. He thus became President of the Regional Council of Brittany. In October 2010 he became President of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR).[6]

Minister of Defence, 2012–2017

Le Drian was nominated to serve as Minister of Defence under President François Hollande on 16 May 2012. He managed the withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan and the deployment of French troops in the Northern Mali conflict and Operation Barkhane. He is also credited with leading a resurgence in French weapons' exports that have resulted in billions of euros in deals, including the first exports of the Dassault Rafale fighter jet.[7]

Ahead of the Socialist Party's 2017 primaries, Kanner endorsed Manuel Valls as the party's candidate for the presidential election later that year.[8] By 23 March 2017, he eventually endorsed Emmanuel Macron's candidacy for President of the Republic.[9] After Macron won the presidential election, he appointed Le Drian as Foreign Minister in the First Philippe government.

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, 2017–2022

Le Drian remained in office when the Second Philippe government was inaugurated; on 8 March 2018, he officially resigned from the Socialist Party.

In August 2019, Le Drian called on Hong Kong authorities to renew talks with Hong Kong protesters to find a peaceful solution to the then ongoing crisis.[10] On 9 October 2019, Le Drian condemned the unilateral Turkish operation in Northeastern Syria and declared that Turkey's military incursion "is jeopardising the anti-Islamic State coalition's security and humanitarian efforts and is a risk for the security of Europeans".[11]

In 2020, Le Drian created the new movement Territories of Progress with fellow minister Olivier Dussopt.[12]

The announcement of the AUKUS security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia in September 2021 sparked a period of diplomatic tensions in French-American and French-Australian relations.[13] The French government received official notification from Australia that the Attack-class submarine project, involving a A$90 billion Australian contract to buy 12 French submarines, was to be cancelled only a few hours before it was publicly announced.[14] In a joint statement, Le Drian and French armed forces minister Florence Parly expressed disappointment at Australia's decision to abandon their joint submarine program with France.[15] [16] Le Drian further stated in a radio interview that the contract termination was a "stab in the back". On 17 September, France recalled its ambassadors from Australia and the US.[17] Despite tension in the past, France had never before withdrawn its ambassador to the United States.[18] In November 2021, in an interview with the newspaper Le Monde, Le Drian expressed concern about the economic predation weighing on African countries, pointing the finger at China and Russia: "Our competitors have no taboos or limits." According to Le Drian, Europeans must at all costs rebuild their relationship with the African continent.

Personal Envoy for Lebanon, 2023–present

In 2023, President Macron named Le Drian as his personal envoy for Lebanon.[19] [20]

Awards and honours

Publications

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Sacha Nelken (20 May 2022), Au revoir, au revoir président: Blanquer, Bachelot, Schiappa… Les principaux recalés du gouvernement Borne 1 Libération.
  2. Web site: CV: Jean-Yves LE DRIAN . . 25 January 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140223083415/http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/conferences/od2011/Open-Days-FTP-2011/docs/762-11A14-Microsoft_Word_-_00__CV__LE_DRIAN__ANGLAIS.pdf . 23 February 2014 .
  3. News: Actualité – Personnalité – Jean-Yves Le Drian. 20 January 2013. Le Point.
  4. News: Raynaudon-Kerzerho . Maiwenn . 1 March 2014 . L'Union démocratique bretonne : un demi-siècle de lutte pour l'autonomie . The Breton Democratic Union: half a century of fight for the autonomy . fr . 96 . Bretons . Vannes/Gwened, Brittany . Les Éditions Blanc et Noir . 38 . 0245-9507 .
  5. "Monsieur Jean-Yves LE DRIAN" Le Trombinoscope 29 May 2008, a commercial biographical database in French.
  6. News: Jean-Yves Le Drian is the new French Minister for Defence . https://web.archive.org/web/20131019152403/http://news.cpmr.org/uncategorized/jean-yves-le-drian-is-the-new-french-minister-for-defence/ . dead . 19 October 2013 . 20 January 2013 . Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe . 18 May 2012 .
  7. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-government-ministers-idUSKCN18D1SA Factbox: Ministers in new French government
  8. Grégoire Poussielgue and Pierre-Alain Furbury (15 December 2016), Primaire du PS : Valls engrange les soutiens Les Échos.
  9. Web site: French election: Defence Minister Le Drian defects to Macron. BBC. 23 March 2017. 23 March 2017.
  10. Web site: France urges Hong Kong authorities to renew dialogue with protesters. Gareth . Jones. 15 August 2019. Yahoo news.
  11. News: France says Turkey operation jeopardises security and humanitarian efforts. Reuters. 9 October 2019.
  12. Web site: progrès. Territoires de. Territoires de progrès Accueil Mouvement politique. 2021-04-11. Territories of Progress. fr-FR.
  13. Web site: Explainer: Why is a submarine deal sparking a diplomatic crisis?. www.aljazeera.com.
  14. News: Probyn . Andrew . French Ambassador says Australia's decision to scrap submarine deal was a breach of trust . 17 September 2021 . ABC News . 17 September 2021 . en-AU . 17 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210917093150/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-17/french-ambassador-australia-decision-nuclear-submarine-aukus/100472704 . live .
  15. Web site: Communiqué conjoint de Jean-Yves Le Drian et de Florence Parly . 16 September 2021 . 16 September 2021 . France Diplomatie . Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères . fr . 16 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210916004004/https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/dossiers-pays/australie/evenements/article/communique-conjoint-de-jean-yves-le-drian-et-de-florence-parly-16-09-2021 . live .
  16. News: Aukus: UK, US and Australia launch pact to counter China . BBC News . 16 September 2021 . 16 September 2021 . 16 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210916001936/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-58564837 . live .
  17. News: France recalls its ambassadors to Australia and United States amid submarine fury . Shields, Bevan . . 18 September 2021 . 18 September 2021 . 17 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210917203917/https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/france-recalls-its-ambassadors-to-australia-and-united-states-amid-submarine-fury-20210918-p58srt.html . live .
  18. News: Wadhams . Nick . Adghirni . Samy . Nussbaum . Ania . France Recalls Its Ambassador to U.S. for First Time Over Subs . 18 September 2021 . Bloomberg L.P. . 17 September 2021 . en .
  19. John Irish (22 June 2023), Macron returns to former minister to help break Lebanon deadlock Reuters.
  20. Hélène Sallon (22 June 2023), Former French foreign minister Le Drian takes on the Lebanese political stalemate Le Monde.
  21. Web site: Le Drian décoré par le président égyptien . Le Drian decorated by the Egyptian President . fr. Le Figaro. 2017-02-28.
  22. Web site: Légion d'honneur : Jean-Yves Le Drian et d'autres Bretons dans la promotion du 14-Juillet. 2022-07-14.
  23. Web site: RDes C130J franco-allemands bientôt à Évreux . defense.gouv.f . 14 April 2017 . 17 May 2017.
  24. News: Japan to honor 4,113 people in autumn decorations . 23 September 2021 . . 3 November 2019.
  25. Web site: Le Drian décoré au Mexique, les relations au beau fixe. 12 December 2021 . 19 December 2021.
  26. Web site: Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 27 maja 2014 r. o nadaniu orderów i odznaczenia . Monitor Polski (Dziennik Urzędowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej . 17 October 2014 . 9 May 2021.
  27. Web site: Real Decreto 1093/2015, de 4 de diciembre por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden de Isabel la Católica Jean-Yves Le Drian, Ministro de Defensa de la República Francesa . BOE (Spanish Official Journal) . 5 December 2015 . 18 February 2016.