Anne-Marie Idrac

Anne-Marie Idrac (born 27 July 1951 in Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor) is the current Minister of State for foreign trade.

Biography

Anne-Marie Idrac, an alumna of the Institute of political studies of Paris ("Sciences Po"), and of the École Nationale d'Administration, was, from 1974 to 1995, civil administrator in various posts in the Minister of Public Works (France), of housing, of the environment, of urbanism and of transports. She was also general director of the public establishment of rural development of Cergy-Pontoise from 1990 to 1993.

In 1995, still director of land transports, she was called to the government as woman issued from the civil society, to the post of Transportation State Secretary, which she occupied under the two Juppé governments. She conducted the legislative reform of 1996 which led to the debt-clearing of the SNCF by the creation of the RFF, and to the experimentation in 5 regions of de-centralisation of regional trains (TER), extended in 2001 by Jean-Claude Gayssot.

Daughter of André Colin, the head of MRP and of political parties which succeeded it at the centre, she chose to join François Bayrou's Democratic Force and the UDF. She was elected UDF deputy of the third circonscription of the Yvelines in 1997 and re-elected in 2002, losing to Hervé Morin to the presidency of the group UDF at the National Assembly. She was chairman of the regional council of the Île-de-France (1998-2002) and was general secretary to the ‘Nouvelle Union’ for the French Democracy (UDF).

In September 2002, she left her mandate and political functions to take on the presidency of the RATP, on the suggestion of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. Christian Blanc, ally to the UDF, who had been one of her predecessors at the RATP, and with whom she has led the fusion of Air-France/Air-Inter to completion, became her successor at the National Assembly. Her mandate years at the RATP are marked most notably by the reform of retirement financing, the launching of automation of Parisian metro’s line 1, the installation of a guaranteed contractual service in case of strikes, as well as contracts in foreign countries.

Brought back to the post for a mandate of 5 years in July 2004, she resigned on 12 July 2006 to succeed Louis Gallois as head of the SNCF, the latter being called to EADS. She was involved in the development of TGV lines at a European dimension, to the relaunch of regional transportation, and to the regeneration of the network for RFF, and to the rectification of the fret situation. She obtained the creation of an autonomous fund for retired railwaymen, rendered necessary by the application to enterprise of IFRS accounting norms.

Other posts

* Junior official of the National defence Institute of high studies (IHEDN), in 1986-87 (XXXIXe session).
* President of the European-French Movement between 2000 and 2004.
* Member of the Advisory board of Dexia (2002-2007).
* Member of the Orientation Council of the association "En Temps Réel", as well as the administration council of the IFRI, of the Robert Schuman foundation, of the HEC School of Management Advisory board.

Governmental Functions

* Secretary of state to the ministry of rural development, in charge of transportation to the first government Alain Juppé (from 18th May to the 6th November 1995). She used to be a member of the Juppettes.
* Secretary of State to the ministry of Equipment, of housing and of Transports and Tourism, in charge of the Transports in the second government of Alain Juppé (from the 6th November 1995 to the 4th June 1997).
*Secretary of State to the ministry of Economy, Industry and Employment, in charge of Foreign Commerce in the second government of François Fillon (from the 18th March 2008).