GetWiki

{{short description|French politician (born 1947)}}{{EngvarB|date=May 2014}}{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2014}}

factoids

| birth_place = Lorient, FranceRenaissance (French political party)>Renaissance (2022–present)Socialist Party (France)>Socialist Party (1974–2018)Independent (2018–2020)Territories of Progress (2020-2022)University of Rennes 2 – Upper Brittany>University of Rennes 2}}Jean-Yves Le Drian ({{IPA-fr|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)Sacha Nelken (20 May 2022), Au revoir, au revoir président: Blanquer, Bachelot, Schiappa… Les principaux recalés du gouvernement Borne 1 Libération. and as Minister of Defence under President François Hollande (2012–2017).WEB, CV: Jean-Yves LE DRIAN,weblink European Commission, 25 January 2011, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20140223083415weblink">weblink 23 February 2014, 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).NEWS, Actualité – Personnalité – Jean-Yves Le Drian,weblink 20 January 2013, Le Point, First interested by the Breton Democratic Union (UDB) in the early 1970s, he joined the Socialist Party (PS) in May 1974.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,weblink fr, 96, Bretons, Vannes/Gwened, Brittany, Les Éditions Blanc et Noir, 38, 0245-9507,

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."Monsieur Jean-Yves LE DRIAN" Le Trombinoscope 29 May 2008, a commercial biographical database in French. 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).NEWS, Jean-Yves Le Drian is the new French Minister for Defence,weblinkweblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20131019152403weblink">weblink dead, 19 October 2013, 20 January 2013, Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe, 18 May 2012,

Minister of Defence, 2012–2017

File:Nouveau plan stratégique de l’École polytechnique cropped.jpg|thumb|left|Jean-Yves Le Drian at the École Polytechnique in 2015, with Emmanuel MacronEmmanuel MacronLe 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.Factbox: Ministers in new French government Reuters, May 17, 2017.Ahead of the Socialist Party's 2017 primaries, Kanner endorsed Manuel Valls as the party's candidate for the presidential election later that year.Grégoire Poussielgue and Pierre-Alain Furbury (15 December 2016), Primaire du PS : Valls engrange les soutiens Les Échos. By 23 March 2017, he eventually endorsed Emmanuel Macron's candidacy for President of the Republic.WEB, French election: Defence Minister Le Drian defects to Macron,weblink BBC, 23 March 2017, 23 March 2017, After Macron won the presidential election, he appointed Le Drian as Foreign Minister in the First Philippe government.{{clearleft}}

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, 2017–2022

File:Secretary Blinken Meets with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (51314092875).jpg|thumb|left|Le Drian with US Secretary of State Antony BlinkenAntony BlinkenLe 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.WEB,weblink France urges Hong Kong authorities to renew dialogue with protesters, Gareth, Jones, 15 August 2019, Yahoo news, 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".NEWS,weblink France says Turkey operation jeopardises security and humanitarian efforts, Reuters, 9 October 2019, File:Le Drian in Tehran 05.jpg|thumb|left|Le Drian with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad ZarifMohammad Javad ZarifIn 2020, Le Drian created the new movement Territories of Progress with fellow minister Olivier Dussopt.WEB, progrès, Territoires de, Territoires de progrès {{!, Accueil {{!}} Mouvement politique|url=https://territoiresdeprogres.com/|access-date=2021-04-11|website=Territories of Progress|language=fr-FR}}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.WEB,weblink Explainer: Why is a submarine deal sparking a diplomatic crisis?, www.aljazeera.com, 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.NEWS, Probyn, Andrew, French Ambassador says Australia's decision to scrap submarine deal was a breach of trust,weblink 17 September 2021, ABC News, 17 September 2021, en-AU, 17 September 2021,weblink live, 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.WEB, Communiqué conjoint de Jean-Yves Le Drian et de Florence Parly, 16 September 2021,weblink 16 September 2021, France Diplomatie, Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères, fr, 16 September 2021,weblink live, NEWS,weblink Aukus: UK, US and Australia launch pact to counter China, BBC News, 16 September 2021, 16 September 2021, 16 September 2021,weblink live, 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.NEWS,weblink France recalls its ambassadors to Australia and United States amid submarine fury, Shields, Bevan, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 September 2021, 18 September 2021, 17 September 2021,weblink live, Despite tension in the past, France had never before withdrawn its ambassador to the United States.NEWS, Wadhams, Nick, Adghirni, Samy, Nussbaum, Ania, France Recalls Its Ambassador to U.S. for First Time Over Subs,weblink 18 September 2021, Bloomberg L.P., 17 September 2021, en, File:Συνάντηση ΥΠΕΞ Ν. Δένδια με ΥΠΕΞ Γαλλίας J.Y. Le Drian (Αθήνα, 19.11.2021) (51690998804).jpg|thumb|left|Le Drian with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos DendiasNikos DendiasIn 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.{{clearleft}}

Personal Envoy for Lebanon, 2023–present

In 2023, President Macron named Le Drian as his personal envoy for Lebanon.John Irish (22 June 2023), Macron returns to former minister to help break Lebanon deadlock Reuters.Hélène Sallon (22 June 2023), Former French foreign minister Le Drian takes on the Lebanese political stalemate Le Monde.

Awards and honours

• (File:Ordre de la Valeur (Cameroun) GO 2nd type ribbon.svg|70px) Grand Officier of the Order of Valour ({{Flag| Cameroon}})
• (File:EGY Order of the Republic - Grand Cordon BAR.svg|70px) Grand Cordon of the Order of the RepublicWEB,weblink Le Drian décoré par le président égyptien, Le Drian decorated by the Egyptian President, fr, Le Figaro, 2017-02-28, ({{flag|Egypt}})
• (File:Legion Honneur Officier ribbon.svg|70px) Officer of the Legion of HonourWEB,weblink Légion d'honneur : Jean-Yves Le Drian et d'autres Bretons dans la promotion du 14-Juillet, 2022-07-14, ({{Flag| France}})
• (File:Ordre du Merite maritime Commandeur ribbon.svg|70px) Commander of the Ordre du Mérite Maritime ({{Flag| France}})
• (File:GEO Golden Fleece Order BAR.svg|70px) Medal of the Order of the Golden Fleece ({{Flag|Georgia}})
• (File:GER Bundesverdienstkreuz 5 GrVK Stern.svg|70px) Knight Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of GermanyWEB,weblink RDes C130J franco-allemands bientôt à Évreux, defense.gouv.f, 14 April 2017, 17 May 2017, ({{Flag|Germany}})
• (File:Cote d'Ivoire Ordre national Commandeur ribbon.svg|70px) Commander of the National Order of the Ivory Coast ({{Flag|Ivory Coast}})
• (File:JPN Kyokujitsu-sho 1Class BAR.svg|70px|ribbon bar) Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising SunNEWS, Japan to honor 4,113 people in autumn decorations,weblink 23 September 2021, Arab News, 3 November 2019, ({{Flag|Japan}})
• (File:Mali Ordre national du Mali GO ribbon.svg|70px) Grand Officier of the National Order of Mali ({{Flag|Mali}})
• (File:MEX Orden del Aguila Azteca 2011 Banda BAR.svg|70px) Sash of the Order of the Aztec Eagle ({{Flag|Mexico}})WEB,weblink Le Drian décoré au Mexique, les relations au beau fixe, 12 December 2021, 19 December 2021,
• (File:POL Order Zaslugi RP kl2 BAR.svg|70px) Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of PolandWEB,weblink Postanowienie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 27 maja 2014 r. o nadaniu orderów i odznaczenia, Monitor Polski (Dziennik UrzÄ™dowy Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, 17 October 2014, 9 May 2021, ({{Flag|Poland}})
• (File:SEN Order of the Lion - Grand Officer BAR.svg|70px) Grand Officer of the National Order of the Lion ({{Flag|Senegal}})
• (File:ESP Isabella Catholic Order GC.svg|70px) Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the CatholicWEB,weblink 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, ({{Flag|Spain}})

Publications

• Qui est l'ennemi ?, Paris, ed. Le Cerf, 2016

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

External links

{{Foreign Ministers of France}}{{Second Philippe government}}{{Ayrault}}{{Authority control}}