Dominique de Villepin

Dominique de Villepin
Villepin in 2010
Prime Minister of France
In office
31 May 2005 – 17 May 2007
PresidentJacques Chirac
Preceded byJean-Pierre Raffarin
Succeeded byFrançois Fillon
Minister of the Interior
In office
31 March 2004 – 31 May 2005
Prime MinisterJean-Pierre Raffarin
Preceded byNicolas Sarkozy
Succeeded byNicolas Sarkozy
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
7 May 2002 – 31 March 2004
Prime MinisterJean-Pierre Raffarin
Preceded byHubert Védrine
Succeeded byMichel Barnier
Secretary General to the President
In office
17 May 1995 – 6 May 2002
PresidentJacques Chirac
Preceded byHubert Védrine
Succeeded byPhilippe Bas
Personal details
Born
Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin

(1953-11-14) 14 November 1953 (age 70)
Rabat, Morocco
NationalityFrench
Political partyRépublique solidaire (2010–present)
Other political
affiliations
Rally for the Republic (before 2002)
Union for a Popular Movement (2002–2010)
Spouse
Marie-Laure Le Guay
(m. 1985; div. 2011)
Children3 (including Marie)
RelativesXavier de Villepin (father)
Philippe Le Guay (brother-in-law)
Alma materSciences Po
École nationale d'administration
Panthéon-Assas University
Paris Nanterre University

Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (French pronunciation: [dɔminik maʁi fʁɑ̃swa ʁəne ɡaluzo vilpɛ̃]; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac.

In his career working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, De Villepin rose through the ranks of the French right as one of Chirac's protégés. He came into the international spotlight as Minister of Foreign Affairs with his opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, one year after his appointment to the office, which culminated with a speech to the United Nations.[1] Before his tenure as prime minister, he also served as Minister of the Interior (2004–2005).

After being replaced by François Fillon as prime minister, De Villepin was indicted in connection with the Clearstream affair,[2][3] but was subsequently cleared of charges of complicity in allowing false accusations to proceed against presidential rival Nicolas Sarkozy regarding bribes paid on a sale of warships to Taiwan.[4] De Villepin enjoyed a modest return to public favour for his public critique of President Sarkozy's style of "imperial rule."[5]

He has written poetry, a book about poetry, and several historical and political essays, along with a study of Napoleon. Villepin is an honorary member of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.

  1. ^ French address on Iraq at the UN Security Council.
  2. ^ "Villepin faces charges in smear campaign in France Archived 4 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine", International Herald Tribune, 27 July 2007.
  3. ^ Bremner, Charles (6 July 2007). "De Villepin likely to face conspiracy charges". The Times. UK. Archived from the original on 12 July 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
  4. ^ "France ex-PM Villepin cleared of Sarkozy smear", BBC News, 28 January 2010, archived from the original on 29 January 2010, retrieved 28 January 2010
  5. ^ Lichfield, John (18 February 2008). "Top politicians warn of 'Sarkozy the monarch'". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2008.

© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search