Élisabeth Borne
Élisabeth Borne | |
---|---|
Prime Minister of France | |
Assumed office 16 May 2022 | |
President | Emmanuel Macron |
Preceded by | Jean Castex |
Minister of Labour, Employment and Integration | |
In office 6 July 2020 – 16 May 2022 | |
Prime Minister | Jean Castex |
Preceded by | Muriel Pénicaud |
Succeeded by | TBD |
Minister of the Ecological and Inclusive Transition | |
In office 16 July 2019 – 6 July 2020 | |
Prime Minister | Édouard Philippe |
Preceded by | François de Rugy |
Succeeded by | Barbara Pompili |
Minister of Transport | |
In office 17 May 2017 – 16 July 2019 | |
Prime Minister | Édouard Philippe |
Preceded by | Alain Vidalies |
Succeeded by | Jean-Baptiste Djebbari |
Personal details | |
Born | Paris, France | 18 April 1961
Political party | Renaissance (since 2017) Territories of Progress (since 2020) |
Spouse |
Olivier Allix
(m. 1989; div. 2008) |
Children | 1 |
Education | École Polytechnique École des ponts ParisTech Collège des Ingénieurs |
Élisabeth Borne ([e.li.za.bɛt bɔʁn]; born 18 April 1961) is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since May 2022. Borne is the first woman to hold the position since Édith Cresson, who served from 1991 to 1992.[1]
A former government official and manager of state enterprises in the transport and construction sectors, Borne previously served as minister of transport (2017–2019) and minister of ecology (2019–2020). She was then minister of labour, employment and integration in the Castex government from 2020 to 2022.[2] On 16 May 2022, President Emmanuel Macron appointed her as the next Prime Minister of France, following Castex's resignation as it is the tradition following the presidential elections in France.[3] She is both a member of Macron's party La République En Marche! (LREM) and of the centre-left party Territories of Progress.
Early life and education
Elisabeth Borne was born in Paris on 18 April 1961.[4] Her French mother, Marguerite Lecèsne, was a pharmacist, and her father, Joseph Bornstein, was a Russian Jew who fled to France at the outset of the Second World War; her parents ran a pharmaceutical laboratory after the war.[5][4] Borne attended high school at Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in Paris. Later, she entered the École Polytechnique (class of 1981) and graduated as a civil engineer. She obtained her engineering degree from the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées. In 1986, she joined the Collège des Ingénieurs where she obtained a Master of Business Administration (MBA).
Career in the public sector
Borne joined the civil service as a government official at the French planning and works ministry (ministère de l'Equipement) in 1987. In the early 1990s, she was an advisor in the ministry of education under Lionel Jospin and Jack Lang (both members of the Socialist Party). From 1993 to 1996 she worked as a technical director for the public housing company Sonacotra. In 1997, prime minister Lionel Jospin appointed her as his advisor for urban planning, housing and transport.[6]
In 2002, Borne became a strategy director and member of the executive committee at the state-owned railway company SNCF, before joining the public works construction company Eiffage as concessions manager in 2007. She worked as director of urban planning for the City of Paris from 2008 until 2013.[7]
In 2013 Borne was appointed Prefect of the department Vienne and the region of Poitou-Charentes, the first woman to occupy that position.[8] At that time, Socialist politician Ségolène Royal was president of the regional council of Poitou-Charente. When Royal became Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy in 2014, she appointed Borne as her chief of staff (directrice de cabinet).[9] Borne subsequently was the President and CEO of RATP Group, a state-owned enterprise which operates public transport in Greater Paris, from 2015 to 2017.[7]
Political career
For a long time Borne was close to the Socialist Party (PS), but without formally joining the party. After Emmanuel Macron's victory in the 2017 French presidential election, she joined La République En Marche! (LREM).[10] Since 2020 she has additionally been a member of Territories of Progress, a centre-left party allied with LREM.[11]
Borne served as minister-delegate of transport in the first and second Philippe government from May 2017 to July 2019.[12][13][14] During her time in office, she held out against weeks of strikes and demonstrations in 2017 to end a generous pension and benefits system for SNCF railway workers.[15] After the resignation of ecology minister François de Rugy, Borne was promoted to head the ministry of the ecological and inclusive transition.
In July 2020, Borne was appointed minister of labour, employment and economic inclusion in the government of prime minister Jean Castex, succeeding Muriel Pénicaud.[16] In that capacity, she oversaw negotiations with unions that resulted in a cut to unemployment benefits for some job seekers.[15] During her time in office, France’s unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 15 years and youth unemployment to its lowest level in 40 years.
On 16 May 2022 Borne was appointed Prime Minister, succeeding Jean Castex, three weeks after the re-election of Emmanuel Macron for a second term as President of the French Republic. After Édith Cresson, in 1991–1992, she is the second woman only to hold the position.
Borne is a candidate for Renaissance (formerly known as La République En Marche!) in the June 2022 French legislative election in Calvados's 6th constituency in the Normandy region in northwestern France.[17] However, while remaining a candidate, under the Dual mandate (cumuls des mandats) law she will not be able to take up the position if she wins the election, and will be replaced by a designated alternate.
Political positions
In 2019, Borne opposed France's ratification of the European Union–Mercosur free trade agreement.[18]
Honours
Ribbon bar | Honour | Date and comment |
---|---|---|
Chevalier of the Legion of Honour | 12 July 2013[19] | |
Officer of the National Order of Merit | 14 November 2016[20] | |
Chevalier of the National Order of Merit | 6 November 2008[20] | |
Commandeur of the National Order of Maritime Merit | 2017[21] |
See also
References
- ^ "Élisabeth Borne becomes France's first female prime minister in 30 years". the Guardian. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ "Gouvernement Castex en direct : Darmanin nommé ministre de l'intérieur, Dupond-Moretti garde des sceaux et Bachelot à la culture". Le Monde.fr (in French). 6 July 2020.
- ^ "Élisabeth Borne va être nommée Première ministre". INFO BFMTV. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ a b Sage, Adam (17 May 2022). "Elisabeth Borne: France's first female prime minister for 30 years seeks unity". The Times. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ Bloch, Ben (17 May 2022). "France's new prime minister is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor and French Resistance hero". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ "Elisabeth Borne". Who's Who in France. 17 May 2022.
- ^ a b Philippe Jacqué, Cédric Pietralunga and Isabelle Chaperon (March 24, 2015), RATP : Elisabeth Borne devrait remplacer Pierre Mongin Le Monde, April 24, 2014.
- ^ "Elisabeth Borne, la nouvelle ministre de la Transition écologique, a été préfète de la région Poitou-Charente". France Bleu (in French). 17 July 2019.
- ^ La préfète de Poitou-Charentes nommée directrice de cabinet de Ségolène Royal Le Monde, April 24, 2014.
- ^ Dominique Albertini and Franck Bouaziz (January 8, 2018) Transports : Elisabeth Borne, lasse du volant ? Libération.
- ^ Jean-Rémi Baudot (20 September 2020). "Avec le mouvement "Territoires de progrès", Emmanuel Macron travaille son aile gauche". Europe 1.
- ^ "L'ancienne préfète de Poitou-Charentes Élisabeth Borne nommée ministre déléguée aux transports - 17/05/2017 - La Nouvelle République Vienne" (in French). Orig.lanouvellerepublique.fr. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ "Elisabeth Borne passe de la RATP au ministère des Transports". Bfmbusiness.bfmtv.com. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ "Élisabeth Borne, ministre des transports, 56 ans". La Croix. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
- ^ a b Elizabeth Pineau and Dominique Vidalon (16 May 2022), France's Macron picks Elisabeth Borne as new prime minister Reuters.
- ^ "Élisabeth Borne". Gouvernement.fr (in French). 20 March 2018.
- ^ https://www.ouest-france.fr/normandie/vire-normandie-14500/legislatives-2022-candidate-dans-le-calvados-elisabeth-borne-est-nommee-premiere-ministre-7a7dce7a-d52d-11ec-bd06-4e730397c904
- ^ Benoit Van Overstraeten (October 8, 2019), France will not sign Mercosur deal under current conditions: minister Borne Reuters.
- ^ "Décret du 12 juillet 2013 portant promotion et nomination". Légifrance (in French).
- ^ a b "Décret du 14 novembre 2016 portant promotion et nomination". Légifrance (in French).
- ^ "Décret n° 2002-88 du 17 janvier 2002 relatif à l'ordre du Mérite maritime". Légifrance (in French).
External links
- 1961 births
- Living people
- 21st-century French women politicians
- Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
- Corps des ponts
- École des Ponts ParisTech alumni
- École Polytechnique alumni
- French chief executives
- French Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs
- French people of Polish-Jewish descent
- Officers of the National Order of Merit (France)
- Politicians from Paris
- Prime Ministers of France
- Transport ministers of France
- Women government ministers of France
- Women prime ministers
- Prefects of Vienne
- La République En Marche! politicians