Jean-Louis Borloo

Jean-Louis Marie Borloo (ʒɑ̃lwi maʁi bɔʁlo; born 7 April 1951) is a French politician and lawyer who served as the inaugural president of the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI) from 2012 to 2014. In government, he was Minister Delegate for the City and Urban Renewal from 2002 to 2004 and Minister of Employment, Social Cohesion and Housing from 2004 to 2007 under President Jacques Chirac, and Minister of the Economy, Finance and Employment in 2007 and Minister of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea from 2007 until 2010 under President Nicolas Sarkozy.^[1]

Early life

Jean-Louis Marie Borloo was born in Paris. His parents were Lucien Borloo, born in Guémené-sur-Scorff, Morbihan, of Breton and Belgian origin, and Mauricette Acquaviva from Marseille, of Corsican origin. Borloo gained his baccalauréat in 1969, in the philosophy stream.

In 1972 he took a first degree in Law and Philosophy at Panthéon-Sorbonne University, in 1974 a further degree in History and Economics at Paris X Nanterre, and in 1976 an MBA at HEC Paris.^[2] While a student, he worked at a filling station to pay his studies.^[3]

Political career

Borloo began his career as a lawyer in the 1980s. He became president of the Valenciennes Football Club in 1986. In 1989, he was elected mayor of Valenciennes as an Independent, winning over 76% of the second-round vote.^[4]

In the June 1989 European Parliament election, Borloo was elected to the European Parliament as the second candidate on Simone Veil's list. He held this seat until his election as regional councillor in Nord-Pas-de-Calais in 1992.

Borloo was elected to the National Assembly as a miscellaneous right candidate representing the 21st constituency of Nord in 1993. Joining the caucus of the UDF, he was re-elected in 1997, two years after his re-election as Mayor of Valenciennes.

He was a founding member of Ecology Generation in 1990, but he later joined the Union for French Democracy led by François Bayrou. However, in 2002 he joined the Radical Party, associated with the new Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). He was co-president of the Radical Party alongside André Rossinot between 2005 and 2007, when he became sole president of the party.

It was on the Radical-UMP ticket that Borloo was re-elected as a deputy in 2002 and 2007. He was Minister Delegate for the City and Urban Renovation in the Jean-Pierre Raffarin governments between 2002 and 2004, Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Cohesion under Raffarin between 2004 and 2005, and finally Minister of Employment, Social Cohesion and Housing in the Dominique de Villepin government between 2005 and 2007. In that role, he introduced a five-year plan of social cohesion, which was centered around three axes: equal opportunity, housing and employment.

On 21 July 2005 Borloo married news anchorwoman Béatrice Schönberg at Rueil-Malmaison, Hauts-de-Seine.

From 18 May to 19 June 2007, he was Minister of the Economy and Finance in the François Fillon cabinet. Between 19 June 2007 and November 2010, he was the French minister of State for Energy, Ecology and Sustainable Development. In this capacity, he was a major player in the 2007–2008 Grenelle de l'environnement. He quit the government allegedly after being passed over for premiership in a cabinet reshuffle.^[5]

In April 2011, Borloo left the UMP in protest at Sarkozy's rightward swing. He announced plans to set up a "republican, ecologist, and social alliance", with a view to becoming a candidate in the 2012 presidential election.^[6] However, he decided not to run for President of France.

In September 2012, he created the Union of Democrats and Independents (UDI), successor of The Alliance, trying to unify all the centrist parties, while the UDI still allied with the UMP.

Despite being a leader in the UDI, Borloo was not involved in the 2014 municipal elections, mentioning health reasons, such as frontal acute pneumonia and sepsis. On 6 April 2014, Borloo announced in a letter to the executives of the UDI that he would resign immediately from "every political term and position" due to his health concerns.^[7]

Notes

1. ^ Previously Minister of Ecology and Sustainable Development and Planning (2007–2008) and Minister of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Territorial Planning (2008–2009).
2. ^ Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Cohesion until 31 May 2005. Took over the Housing portfolio from Minister Delegate for Housing and the City Marc-Philippe Daubresse.
3. ^ Minister Delegate for the City until 17 June 2002.

References

1. ^ A Directory of World Leaders & Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments: 2008–2009 Edition. Rockville, MD: Arc Manor, 2008. 154.
2. ^ HEC alumni figure among New Cabinet Faces. HEC Paris.
3. ^ Éric de la Chesnais (15 October 2007). "Jean-Louis Borloo : 'Pompiste chez BP'" (in French). Le Figaro
4. ^ Thomas Snégaroff (26 April 2018). "Histoires d'info. En 1989, à Valenciennes, Jean-Louis Borloo se posait déjà en artisan de la rénovation urbaine" (in French). franceinfo
5. ^ Ben Hall (15 November 2010). "Centrists attack Sarkozy's shift to right". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
6. ^ Peggy Hollinger (8 April 2011). "Centrists defect over Sarkozy swerve right". Financial Times. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
7. ^ "Jean-Louis Borloo renonce à ses fonctions et mandats politiques" (in French). lemonde.fr. 6 April 2014.

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