Bernard Kouchner

Infobox Politician
name = Bernard Kouchner

---

imagesize = 200px
birth_date = birth date and age|1939|11|01|
birth_place = Avignon, France
office = Minister of Foreign Affairs of France
religion =
term_start = 17 May 2007
term_end =
primeminister = François Fillon
predecessor = Philippe Douste-Blazy
successor = Incumbent
office2 = Minister of Health of France
term_start2 = 6 February 2001
term_end2 = 7 May 2002
primeminister2 = Lionel Jospin
predecessor2 = Dominique Gillot
successor2 = Jean-François Mattéi
term_start3 = 4 June 1997
term_end3 = 7 July 1999
primeminister3 = Lionel Jospin
predecessor3 = Jacques Barrot
successor3 = Dominique Gillot
term_start4 = 2 April 1992
term_end4 = 29 March 1993
primeminister4 = Pierre Bérégovoy
predecessor4 = Claude Evin
successor4 = Simone Veil
spouse = Christine Ockrent
profession = Medical Doctor
party = Excluded from the French Socialist Party for joining the UMP government in May 2007

Bernard Kouchner (born November 1 1939 in Avignon) is a French politician, diplomat, and doctor. He is co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières which is also known as Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Doctors of the World. He is currently the French minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the right-wing Fillon government, although he was considered in the past to be a center-left politician.

Humanitarian actions

Born to a Jewish father and a Protestant mother, he began his political career as a member of the French Communist Party (PCF), from which he was expelled in 1966 for attempting to overthrow the leadership. [ [http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9267896 Nouveau Grub Street] , "The Economist", May 31, 2007 en icon] On a visit to Cuba in 1964, Kouchner spent the night fishing and drinking with Fidel Castro. [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/magazine/03kouchner-t.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin A Statesman Without Borders] , "The New York Times Magazine", February 3 2008 en icon] In the protests of May 1968, he ran the medical faculty strike committee at the Sorbonne. Kouchner has three children (Julie, Camille and Antoine) by his first wife, Évelyne Pisier, a professor of law, and one child, Alexandre, by his present wife Christine Ockrent, a television journalist. He worked as a physician for the Red Cross in Biafra in 1968 (during the Nigerian Civil War). He founded Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in 1971, and then, due to a conflict of opinion with MSF chairman Claude Malhuret, the "Doctors of the World" ('Médecins du Monde') in 1980. What made him co-found Doctors Without Borders was his experience as a physician for the Red Cross during the Nigerian Civil War that took place in Biafra, 1968. Kouchner worked as a humanitarian volunteer during the Siege of Naba’a refugee camp in Lebanon in East Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War taking risks that "other foreign aid workers weren’t, even worked closely with the Shia cleric Imam Musa al-Sadr." [ cite news
last= Long
first= Taylor
url= http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=7345
title= Civil society represents Kouchner’s conscience, says doctor
publisher= nowlebanon.com
date= 2007-07-20
accessdate= ]

Minister in left-wing governments

From 1988, he began his government career in Socialist governments, though he was not always a member of the French Socialist Party. He became 'Secrétaire d'état', a lower position in the Cabinet, for Humanitarian Action in 1988, then Minister of Health in 1992, under Mitterand's presidency. Later, he continued his political career in the European Parliament. Between 1993 and 1997, France was governed by right governments.

When Lionel Jospin became Prime Minister in 1997, he became Minister of Health for the second time.

UN Representative in Kosovo

On July 15, 1999, pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1244, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan nominated Kouchner as the first UN Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo. [ cite web
url= http://www.un.org/peace/kosovo/pages/kosovo5b.htm
title= Biography Bernard Kouchner
publisher= United Nations ] . During 18 months, he led UN efforts to create a new civil administration and political system replacing the Serbian ones, and to rebuild the economy shattered by three years of war. Thus, municipal councils were elected at local level by the end of 2000. [ cite web
url= http://www.un.org/peace/kosovo/pages/unmik12.html
title= What is UNMIK?
publisher= United Nations
date=
accessdate= ] He was replaced on 21 January 2001 by Danish Social Democrat Hans Hækkerup. He became at this time Minister of Health for the third time, until the 2002 Elections. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Prishtina for his services to Kosovo.

On the US-led invasion of Iraq

Kouchner is a long-time advocate of humanitarian intervention. In early 2003, he pronounced himself in favour of removing Saddam Hussein as President of Iraq, arguing that interference against dictatorship should be a global priority, and continued to say that now, the focus should be on the actual people themselves, and that they are the only ones who could answer "yes" or "no" to war.

In a February 4, 2003 editorial with Antoine Veil in "Le Monde", entitled "Neither War Nor Saddam," Kouchner said that he was opposed to the impending War in Iraq, and, as the title suggests, to the remaining in power of Saddam Hussein, the removal of whom should be accomplished via a concerted United Nations, preferably diplomatic, solution. [Le Monde, 4 february 2003, " [http://www.reunir.asso.fr/article.php?id_article=21 Ni la guerre ni Saddam] "] [Le Monde, 18 may 2007, " [http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0,36-911935,0.html La dernière mission du docteur Kouchner] "]

Candidate for UN positions

In 2005, Kouchner was a candidate for the position of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but lost the appointment in favor of former Portuguese Prime Minister, António Guterres, who was nominated by then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. One of Kouchner's statements on behalf of his candidature can be found on the International Council of Voluntary Agencies [http://www.icva.ch/cgi-bin/browse.pl?doc=doc00001356#kouchner site] .

In 2006, Kouchner was also a candidate to become Director-General of the World Health Organisation. [ cite news
last= Brown
first= David
url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/04/AR2006110400792.html
title= Field of 11 Candidates Competes to Head WHO
publisher= Washington Post
date=2006-11-05
accessdate= ] He lost before the final election round, and (Hong Kong) Chinese candidate Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun was later elected.

In the Fillon government

After the election of Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007, Kouchner was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in François Fillon's government, even though Kouchner supported Sarkozy's Socialist rival Ségolène Royal during the campaign. He has since been expelled from the Socialist Party for his acceptance of the post. [ [http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9226982 France New's Government - A study in perpetual motion] , "The Economist", June 23, 2007 en icon]

Comments on Iran nuclear situation

In September 2007, Kouchner's public comments on the Iranian nuclear situation attracted much attention and controversy. In an interview on September 16, 2007, he said, "We will negotiate until the end. And at the same time we must prepare ourselves [...] for the worst.... The worst, it’s war...." [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6998602.stm Iran scorns French warning of war] , "BBC News", September 17, 2007 en icon] . He stated that France was committed to a diplomatic resolution and that no military action was planned, but that an Iranian nuclear weapon would pose "a real danger for the whole world". [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/world/europe/18iran.html After Talk of War, Cooler Words in France on Iran] , "New York Times"; [http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=070916184430.t5avfcg9&show_article=1] ] Iranian officials criticized the comments as "inflammatory" [Ibid. BBC News, September 17, 2007] . The chief UN nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agencyindirectly responded to Kouchner by characterizing talk of attacking Iran as "hype," saying the use of force should only be considered as a last resort and only if authorized by the UN Security Council. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7000131.stm ElBaradei concerned over Iran row] BBC Sep17, 2007]

"I would not talk about any use of force," he said. On September 18, 2007, Kouchner attempted to respond to criticisms. In comments to newspaper "Le Monde", he stated, "I do not want it to be said that I am a warmonger! [...] My message was a message of peace, of seriousness and of determination. [...] The worst situation would be war. To avoid that, the French attitude is to negotiate, negotiate, negotiate, without fear of being rebuffed, and to work with our European friends on credible sanctions." [ [http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,506361,00.html Der Spiegel] . September 17, 2007.]

Comments on the Irish ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon

In the run up to the referendum in the Republic of Ireland on the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, Kouchner warned that any "No" vote towards the treaty would be detrimental to Ireland and the Irish economy. He also commented that "It would be very, very awkward if we were not able to count on the Irish, who have often counted on Europe." [ [http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,559639,00.html Der Spiegel] June 11, 2008] . His comments were dismissed as "unhelpful" by leading Irish politicians, and some media commentators have suggested that his remarks may have galvanised the "No" campaign in the run up to the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty on 13 June 2008 [ [http://www.france24.com/en/20080611-kouchner-Ireland-EU-referendum-treaty-vote France 24] June 13, 2008] .

Comments on the European Union and a unity government for Zimbabwe

On 1 July 2008, France assumed presidency of the Council of the European Union. In his capacity as the French foreign minister, he commented after the African Union summit, that The European Union would only recognise a Zimbabwe unity government headed by Morgan Tsvangirai not Robert Mugabe. [ [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jY62B349jh6i8pexagFaTXv3CiGw AFP: EU will only accept Tsvangirai as Zimbabwe leader: Kouchner] . July 1, 2008]

Positions held

* Became the first "Secrétaire d'état" (lower ministerial cabinet) in charge of humanitarian action from 1988 to 1992 (in the Michel Rocard cabinet.)
* Health Minister in 1992-1993 (under Pierre Bérégovoy).
* Member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 1997.
* Health Minister from 1997 to 1999. (under Lionel Jospin)
* Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Kosovo from 1999 to 2001.
* Health-Delegated Minister from 2001 to 2002.

References

External links

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/03/magazine/03kouchner-t.html?pagewanted=1&ref=magazine A Statesman Without Borders] , the "New York Times Magazine", 3 February 2008
* [http://www.asiantribune.com/index.php?q=node/3830 Kosovo’s Kouchner, Inventor Of ‘Humanitarian Interventionism’, To Monitor Sri Lanka] , Asian Tribune, 25 December 2006
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/18/world/europe/18cnd-kouchner.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin A Surprising Choice for France’s Foreign Minister] , by Elaine Sciolino, "New York Times", May 18, 2007
* [http://www.cfr.org/publication/14322/ CFR.org Video Highlights: Bernard Kouchner]
*Karina Paulina Marczuk, "A Visionary and a Practitioner: the Bernard Kouchner vs. David Kilcullen", "Defence and Strategy", vol. 2/2007 [ [http://www.defenceandstrategy.eu/en/current-issue-2-2007/articles/a-visionary-and-a-practitioner-the-bernard-kouchner-vs-david-kilcullen.html A Visionary and a Practitioner: the Bernard Kouchner vs. David Kilcullen - Institute for Strategic Studies] ]