Alain Juppe

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Juppé, Alain Marie (b. 15 Aug. 1945). Prime Minister of France 1995–7 Born at Mont de Marsan, he graduated from the elite colleges École Normale Supérieure and the École Nationale d'Administration. In 1976, he became a speech-writer for and protégé of Chirac. After Chirac's election in 1978 as Mayor of Paris he became his economic and financial director, and in 1986 became a Deputy in the National Assembly. He was Secretary of State for the Budget 1986–8, and as secretary-general of the Gaullists (RPR) from 1988 he made a significant contribution to their victory in the 1993 elections. As Minister of Foreign Affairs (1993–5) he was the most outspoken and enthusiastic ally of Chirac's bid for the presidency, and was appointed Prime Minister after the latter's victory. He struggled hard to realize the President's contradictory election promises of a reduction in unemployment, increased social spending, and a reduction of state spending. He was more a technocrat than a communicator, and his attempted public spending reforms in late 1995 caused the biggest popular protests in French society since 1968. The 1997 elections, called early by Chirac in the expectation of a clear victory for the right, became a disaster for Juppé, whose RPR was routed. He continued to be an influential member of the National Assembly and a trusted aide to Chirac.

Alain Juppé , 1945–, French politician, b. Les Landes. A member of the Gaullist Rally for the Republic (RPR), he entered the Inspection des Finances in 1972. A protegé of Jacques Chirac , he was in charge of the Paris city budget during Chirac's mayoralty and later followed his mentor into national office. During Chirac's premiership, Juppé was France's budget minister (1984–86) and government spokesman (1986–88). In 1993, Juppé became foreign minister under Édouard Balladur , then succeeded him as premier in 1995. That year he was also elected RPR president and mayor of Bordeaux, giving him strong national and local power bases. In 1997, however, the RPR was decisively defeated at the polls. From 2002 to 2004 he was chairman of the Union for the Presidential Majority (later the Union for a Popular Movement), the successor of the RPR. Juppé, still mayor of Bordeaux and a member of the National Assembly, was convicted on corruption inquiries relating to his Paris years in 2004, and subsequently resigned as mayor of Bordeaux and from the National Assembly. In 2006, however, returned to government as mayor of Bordeaux. After Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president in 2007, Juppé was briefly minister of state for the environment and sustainable development, but he resigned after he failed to win a seat in the National Assembly. He subsequently served as defense minister (2010–11) and foreign minister (2011–).