Xavier Bertrand

Infobox Person
name = Xavier Bertrand

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caption = Xavier Bertrand in 2007
birth_date = date of birth and age|1965|3|21
birth_place = Châlons-sur-Marne, France
occupation = Politician
nationality = French

Xavier Bertrand (born March 21, 1965 in Châlons-sur-Marne, Marne) is a French politician. He is the current Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Solidarity in François Fillon's second government. He was for almost two years Minister of Health in Dominique de Villepin's government under President Jacques Chirac. He played a foremost role in Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign in 2007.

Biography

Family and studies

Born on March 21, 1965 in Châlons-sur-Marne, in the Marne "département", of the Champagne-Ardenne "région" of France, Xavier Bertrand is the son of Jean-Pierre Bertrand, a bank executive and of Madeleine Bedin, a bank employee.

Bertrand studied in Reims, where he obtained a masters in public right, then a "Diplôme d'Études Supérieures Spécialisées (DESS)" in local administration.

Insurance agent by profession, Bertrand married Emmmanuelle Gontier, advisor in human resources on July 11, 1998. He is the father of three children, two of whom are twins.

Political career

Bertrand was at the early age of 16 already a militant for the Rally for the Republic (RPR), and quickly went into politics.

In 1992, he led the campaign for the 'no' to the Maastricht Treaty in his department, the Aisne in the region of Picardy. He was at the time assistant to the mayor of Saint-Quentin, Aisne. He was one of the pioneers of the 'Saint-Quentin beach', an event similar to Paris-Plage.

After having been, from 1997 to 2002, parliamentary assistant to Jacques Braconnier, senator of the Aisne, he was elected deputy at the Assemblée Nationale on June 16, 2002 for the 18th legislature (2002–2007), in the second circonscription of the Aisne.

In 2003, Alain Juppé, president for the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), makes him responsible of leading the debate and of explaining the reform of the pensions during a "Tour of France". He is chosen as representant of this law project at the Assemblée Nationale. He is during this period part of the 'Club de la boussole' which joins deputies who called themselves loyal to the then President Jacques Chirac and the then Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

During this period, he gained credit and got noticed in the right-wing political milieux. On March 31, 2004, when Raffarin named his third government, he was named Junior Health Minister to the Health Insurance. Under his Senior Minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, he led the reform on the health insurance. Later on, he pronounced himself strongly in favour of a European Constitution for the referendum on May 29, 2005.

After the majority of the French voters' "no" to the referendum, Raffarin resigned as Prime Minister. Under the new PM, Dominique de Villepin, encouraged by the former one, Bertrand became the new Senior Minister for Health as Douste-Blazy transferred to Foreign Affairs Minister.

His mandate as Health Minister was marked by the chikungunya epidemic and the prohibition to smoke in public places, ratified in 2004.

Xavier Bertrand announced his support to UMP presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy on September 29, 2006. He is named official spokesperson of Sarkozy on January 15, 2007. He quit the government on 26 March to devote himself fully to the campaign.

On May 18, 2007, he is named Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Solidarity in the new Prime Minister François Fillon's government. On June 19, 2007 he is re-named Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Solidarity in Fillon's second government after the first one handed in its resignation the day before for rehandling after government no.2 Alain Juppé, Minister of Ecology and Development and only 'Ministre d'État' (Senior Minister), resigned after having lost in he legislative race to deputy of Bordeaux.

Political mandates

Elected mandates

Local mandates

* 20 March 1989 - 18 June 1995: Member of the Mayor's council of Saint-Quentin, Aisne.
* Since 19 June 1995: Assistant to the Mayor of Saint-Quentin in charge of events.
* 23 March 1998 - 29 July 2002: Member of the General Council of the department of Aisne.

National mandates

* 19 June 2002 - 10 June 2007: deputy at the Assemblée Nationale of the second circonscription of the Aisne (Saint-Quentin). Resigns on April 20, 2004 because of his nomination as minister.
* 10 June 2007 - "incumbent": re-elected deputy at the Assemblée Nationale of the second circonscription of the Aisne (Saint-Quentin).

Ministerial functions

* 30 March 2004 - 31 May 2005: Junior Minister for Health to the Health Insurance in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's third government.
* 1 June 2005 - 26 March 2007: Minister for Health and Solidarity in Dominique de Villepin's government.
* 18 May 2007 - 18 June 2007: Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Solidarity in François Fillon's first government.
* 19 June 2007 - "present": Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Solidarity in François Fillon's second government.

ee also

* Chikungunya outbreak in Réunion (2006)