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Michel Barnier

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Not to be confused with French actress Michèle Bernier.

Michel Barnier
Barnier in 2023
Prime Minister of France
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 September 2024
PresidentEmmanuel Macron
Preceded byGabriel Attal
EU offices
Head of the UK Task Force
In office
16 November 2019 – 31 March 2021
PresidentJean-Claude Juncker
Ursula von der Leyen
DeputyClara Martínez Alberola
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJoão Vale de Almeida (as Ambassador to the United Kingdom)
Chief Negotiator of Task Force 50
In office
1 October 2016 – 15 November 2019
PresidentJean-Claude Juncker
DeputySabine Weyand
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services
In office
10 February 2010 – 31 October 2014
PresidentJosé Manuel Barroso
Preceded byCharlie McCreevy
Succeeded byElżbieta Bieńkowska
European Commissioner for Regional Policy
In office
16 September 1999 – 31 March 2004
PresidentRomano Prodi
Preceded byMonika Wulf-Mathies
Succeeded byJacques Barrot
Member of the European Parliament
for Île-de-France
In office
14 July 2009 – 10 February 2010
Succeeded byConstance Le Grip
French political offices
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
In office
19 June 2007 – 22 June 2009
Prime MinisterFrançois Fillon
Preceded byChristine Lagarde
Succeeded byBruno Le Maire
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
31 March 2004 – 31 May 2005
Prime MinisterJean-Pierre Raffarin
Preceded byDominique de Villepin
Succeeded byPhilippe Douste-Blazy
Minister Delegate for European Affairs
In office
18 May 1995 – 3 June 1997
Prime MinisterAlain Juppé
Preceded byAlain Lamassoure
Succeeded byPierre Moscovici
Minister of the Environment
In office
29 March 1993 – 18 March 1995
Prime MinisterÉdouard Balladur
Preceded bySégolène Royal
Succeeded byCorinne Lepage
Senator for Savoie
In office
22 September 1997 – 23 October 1999
In office
2 October 1995 – 31 October 1995
Member of the National Assembly
for Savoie
In office
3 April 1978 – 1 May 1993
Preceded byMaurice Blanc
Succeeded byHervé Gaymard
Constituency2nd (1978–1986)
At-large (1986–1988)
2nd (1988–1993)
General councillor of Savoie
for the canton of Bourg-Saint-Maurice
In office
5 September 1973 – 13 September 1999
Preceded byAlexis Borrel
Succeeded byJacqueline Poletti
Personal details
Born
Michel Jean Barnier

(1951-01-09) 9 January 1951 (age 73)
La Tronche, France
Political partyLR (2015–present)
Other political
affiliations		UDR (1967–1976)
RPR (1976–2002)
UMP (2002–2015)
Spouse
Isabelle Altmayer
​
(m. 1982)​
Children3
RelativesÉric and Nicolas Altmayer (brothers-in-law)
René Altmayer (grandfather-in-law)
Victor Joseph Altmayer (great-grandfather-in-law)
Residence(s)Hôtel Matignon, Paris
Alma materESCP Business School
OccupationDiplomat • Politician

Michel Jean Barnier ([miʃɛl baʁnje] ⓘ; born 9 January 1951) is a French politician and former European Union (EU) official who has served as Prime Minister of France since 5 September 2024.

A member of a series of Gaullist parties (UDR, RR, UMP, LR), Barnier has served in several French cabinet positions, including as Minister of the Environment from 1993 to 1995, Minister for European Affairs from 1995 to 1997, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2005, and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries from 2007 to 2009.

At EU level, Barnier was European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services from 2010 to 2014 and vice president of the European People's Party (EPP) from 2010 to 2015. From October 2016 to November 2019, he was the EU's Chief Negotiator in the Task Force for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (Task Force 50/TF50), then from 2019 to 2021 the European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom (UK Task Force/UKTF).

In August 2021, Barnier announced that he was standing for his party's nomination for President of France in the 2022 presidential election, but later failed to win sufficient support at the 2021 The Republicans congress, placing third. In September 2024, Barnier was appointed as Prime Minister by President Emmanuel Macron following the 2024 snap legislative election. Following his appointment, the BBC described him as "a committed, patriotic conservative in the tradition of Charles de Gaulle".[1]

Early life and education

[edit]

Barnier was born at La Tronche in the French Alps, into a Gaullist family in 1951. His father, Jean Barnier,[2] was a leather and textiles craftsman.[3] His mother, Denise Durand, was a practicing member of the Christian left, who founded a local chapter of the Ligue contre la violence routière [fr]. Barnier is the youngest of the couple's three sons.[4]

In his youth, Barnier was a scout and choirboy.[3] He graduated from the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (ESCP) in 1972.[5] During his studies at the ESCP, he was a classmate of Jean-Pierre Raffarin, the future prime minister, and a member of the Conférence Olivaint, a student organisation intended to prepare members for political life.[6][7]

Political career

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National politics

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Barnier served on the staff of various Gaullist ministers in the 1970s, before being elected in 1978, aged 27, to the National Assembly as deputy for the department of Savoie representing the neo-Gaullists, Rally for the Republic (RPR), serving until 1993.[8][9] In 1981, he was among the conservative politicians, including Jacques Chirac and François Fillon, who voted against decriminalizing same-sex relationships involving people between 15 and 18 years of age, which were legal for mixed-sex couples.[10] In the same year, he voted for the abolition of capital punishment, following a number of other right-wing deputies in breaking party instructions not to do so.[11]

Barnier became the youngest president of the departmental council of Savoie in 1982, following a deal called the Union for Savoie [fr] between right-wing and centrist parties in the council.[12] In 1992, he co-organised the Winter Olympics in Albertville.[13]

Barnier and Powell, both wearing suits, shake hands in front of wooden doors, with the flags of their respective countries
Barnier with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, May 2004

Barnier first joined the Cabinet as Minister of the Environment following the right's landslide victory in the 1993 legislative election. In 1995, Jacques Chirac appointed him Minister for European Affairs,[14] a role in which he served until the defeat of the presidential majority in the 1997 legislative election.[15] Barnier then served as a European Commissioner for Regional Policy in the Prodi Commission from 1999 until 2004.[16] He subsequently served as Foreign Minister in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's government until June 2005 when Dominique de Villepin replaced him with Philippe Douste-Blazy.[17] From 2006 until 2015, Barnier was vice president of the European People's Party.[18] In 2007, under Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency, he re-joined the Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture.[5]

In 2016, the investigating judge Sabine Kheris requested that the case of Barnier, Dominique de Villepin and Michèle Alliot-Marie be referred to the Court of Justice of the Republic. The former ministers were suspected of having allowed the exfiltration of the mercenaries responsible for the attack on the Bouaké penal camp during the 2004 Ivory Coast conflict, killing nine French soldiers. Supporters of the Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo accused the French government of using the attack as a pretext for military retaliation against him.[19]

European politics

[edit]
Official portrait of Barnier as EU Commissioner, 1999

Barnier worked in 2006 as a special adviser to José Manuel Barroso, then President of the European Commission, and presented a report to the Council of Ministers proposing the creation of a European civil-protection force.[20] During 2006–2007, he served as member of the Amato Group, a group of high-level European politicians unofficially working on rewriting the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe into what became known as the Treaty of Lisbon following its rejection by French and Dutch voters.[21]

Barnier led the UMP list in Ile-de-France for the 2009 European Parliament election. In February 2010 he was confirmed as European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services.[22][23][24] In charge of European banking system reform, he argued for a "coherent single market with intelligent rules that apply everywhere".[25] As European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, Barnier handled many important issues, such as the reform of the financial sector (40 pieces of legislation between 2010 and 2014), the banking union (starting with European Banking Supervision) and the digital single market.[26]

Barnier stood unsuccessfully for the nomination of the European People's Party to become President of the European Commission in March 2014, losing to Jean-Claude Juncker.[27] He was twice appointed Acting Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship in Antonio Tajani's stead – first from 19 April to 25 May 2014, while Tajani was on electoral campaign leave for the 2014 European Parliament elections, and secondly from 1 July to 16 July 2014, after Tajani was elected and took up his seat.[28][29] From 2015, Barnier served as unpaid special adviser to Juncker on defence policy.[30][31]

Brexit negotiator

[edit]

On 27 July 2016, Barnier was announced as the European Commission's chief negotiator with the United Kingdom over leaving the European Union, under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. Commenting on the appointment, Juncker said: "I wanted an experienced politician for this difficult job."[32]

From 2019 to 2021, Barnier led the European Commission's Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom (UK Task Force/UKTF).[33][34][35] He was the main negotiator for the 2020 trade deal talks between the UK and EU,[36] receiving his negotiating mandate from the European Council on 25 February 2020.[37]

In January 2021, Barnier was appointed special adviser to President Ursula von der Leyen overseeing the ratification of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, under new arrangements that handed responsibility for implementing the agreement to Vice President Maroš Šefčovič.[38][39]

2022 presidential campaign

[edit]
Main article: 2022 French presidential election

In February 2021, Barnier set up a political faction within the Republicans under the name "Patriot and European" in preparation for a possible bid in the 2022 presidential election.[40][41]

On 27 August 2021, Barnier launched his presidential campaign.[42] In particular, he wanted a three- to five-year moratorium on immigration to the European Union.[43] He proposed to "immediately stop regularizations, rigorously limit family reunification, reduce the reception of foreign students and the systematic execution of the double penalty". On economic issues, he wanted to raise the retirement age from 62 to 65, increase the working week and tighten the conditions for access to social assistance.[44] Many media organizations noted that Barnier sounded like a Eurosceptic and Brexit supporter, contradicting previous positions he had taken on the matter.[45][46]

At the party's 2021 congress, Bernier placed third in the first round of voting with 23.93% of the vote, after Éric Ciotti (on 25.59%) and Valérie Pécresse (on 25.00%); he subsequently endorsed Pécresse.[47] Pécresse was nominated in the second round with 61% of the vote, and proceeded to place in fifth place in the first round of the presidential election, the worst result ever recorded by the Republicans or their Gaullist predecessors[48] She endorsed Macron for the second round of the election.[49] Following his defeat, Barnier retreated from political focus for most of the succeeding three years.[1]

Prime Minister of France

[edit]
See also: 2024 French legislative election § Aftermath, and Barnier government

Following gains by opposition far-right parties in the legislative elections called by President Emmanuel Macron in the summer of 2024, the prime minister, Gabriel Attal, resigned. Macron initially refused his resignation, but accepted it on 16 July.[50] On 5 September, Barnier was appointed as Prime Minister by Macron, heading a parliament divided nearly evenly between the leftist New Popular Front, holding a plurality of seats, Macron's centrist to centre-right Ensemble, and the far-right National Rally.[51][52]

Other activities

[edit]
Barnier speaking in the European Parliament vis-à-vis the latest Brexit developments in January 2019

Barnier has been a member of the Sustainability and Legacy Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), [53] and of the board of trustees of Friends of Europe, a Brussels-based think tank.[54] In 2021, he published My Secret Brexit Diary, a memoir of the EU's negotiations with the UK during its withdrawal from the bloc.[55] Following his appointment as prime minister in 2024, the BBC described him as "a committed, patriotic conservative in the tradition of ... Charles de Gaulle".[1]

In 1982, Barnier married Isabelle Altmayer, a lawyer; they have three adult children.[56][1]

Honours and decorations

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National honours

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Foreign honours

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Gozzi, Laura (5 September 2024). "Michel Barnier's journey from Mr Brexit to French PM". BBC News. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Michel Barnier, une vie entre la Savoie et Paris". Les Échos. 22 March 2001. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
  3. ^ a b Ockrent, Christine (22 January 2018). "Who is Michel Barnier? Meet the EU's chief Brexit negotiator". Prospect. Archived from the original on 30 December 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  4. ^ "Michel Barnier: "On ne peut pas devenir président de la République sans aimer les arbres"". parismatch.com. 13 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Who is Michel Barnier, the man primed to be France's next PM?". Euronews. 5 September 2024. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Les Anciens de la Conférence Olivaint". Conférence Olivaint. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2022..
  7. ^ Colon, David (2010). "Les jeunes de la Conférence Olivaint et l'Europe, de 1919 à 1992". Histoire@Politique. 10 (10). Centre d’histoire de Sciences Po: 5. doi:10.3917/hp.010.00101.
  8. ^ "VIe législature Michel Barnier". assemblee-nationale.fr.
  9. ^ "Xe législature Michel Barnier". assemblee-nationale.fr. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
  10. ^ "Vrai ou faux. Le nouveau Premier ministre, Michel Barnier, a-t-il voté contre la dépénalisation de l'homosexualité en 1981 ?". Franceinfo (in French). 5 September 2024. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.}}
  11. ^ "Débats de l'Assemblée nationale sur le projet de loi d'abolition de la peine de mort (17 et 18 septembre 1981)". Assemblée nationale. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  12. ^ Belouezzane, Sarah; de Royer, Solenn (23 October 2021). "Election présidentielle 2022 : Michel Barnier, celui qui « coche toutes les cases » mais reste peu connu en France". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Key facts on Michel Barnier, France's new prime minister". Strait Times. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  14. ^ Crisp, James (6 December 2016). "Who is the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier?". New Statesman. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.}}
  15. ^ Whitney, Craig R. (5 June 1997). "New Cabinet Is Announced In France". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  16. ^ "School's patrons". European School of Law, Toulouse. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  17. ^ "Criticism from an ousted minister". The New York Times. 4 June 2005. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  18. ^ "Michel Barnier" (PDF). europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  19. ^ Benvenuto, Francesca Maria (1 April 2016). "Soupçons sur la Cour pénale internationale". Le Monde diplomatique. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  20. ^ Barnier as special adviser Archived 20 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine European Voice, 19 February 2015.
  21. ^ Miller, Vaghne (24 July 2007), "EU Reform: a new treaty or an old constitution?" (PDF), House of Commons Research Paper 07/64, p. 16, archived (PDF) from the original on 13 August 2022, retrieved 5 September 2024
  22. ^ "Michel Barnier to take over internal market portfolio". Euobserver. 27 November 2009. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2010.
  23. ^ Philip Aldrick (30 November 2009). "Michel Barnier looks to calm City nerves about reform". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  24. ^ "Summary of Hearing of Michel Barnier". European Parliament. 13 January 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  25. ^ Castle, Stephen (12 July 2013). "European Union Offers Berlin Compromise on Bank Proposal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  26. ^ Five years of laying the foundations of new growth in Europe (PDF). European Commission. 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  27. ^ Jean-Claude Juncker elected as EPP candidate for President of the European Commission, European People's Party, 7 March 2014, archived from the original on 28 August 2019, retrieved 16 April 2019
  28. ^ "Six commissioners head for EU election campaign trail". Archived from the original on 2 January 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  29. ^ "KUNA – Barroso announces caretaker replacements following resignation of 4 EU Commissioners". kuna.net.kw. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  30. ^ Special Advisers to the President, Vice-Presidents and Commissioners of the European Commission Archived 19 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine European Commission.
  31. ^ Simon Taylor (9 March 2015), European Commission special advisers Archived 20 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine European Voice.
  32. ^ Khan, Mehreen (27 July 2016). "Michel Barnier appointed as Juncker's Brexit chief". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  33. ^ "Director / Head of Service Michel Barnier". European Commission. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  34. ^ "European Commission reinforces Brexit team by setting up "Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom" (UKTF)". European Commission. 22 October 2019. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  35. ^ De La Baume, Maïa; Barigazzi, Jacopo (21 October 2019). "Michel Barnier set to lead 'UK Task Force' in Brexit phase II". POLITICO. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  36. ^ Boffey, Daniel; Rankin, Jennifer (1 March 2020). "Brexit: what are the key flashpoints as EU-UK trade talks begin?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  37. ^ "Future EU-UK Partnership: European Commission receives mandate to begin negotiations with the UK (press release)". European Commission. 25 February 2020. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  38. ^ George Parker, Jim Brunsden and Mure Dickie), EU ‘not punishing’ UK financial services sector, London envoy insists Archived 20 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine Financial Times.
  39. ^ Barbara Moens and David M. Herszenhorn (19 January 2021), Barnier moves to 'special adviser' as Šefčovič to become point man on Brexit Archived 20 January 2021 at the Wayback Machine Politico Europe.
  40. ^ Elizabeth Pineau and Michel Rose (16 February 2021), Barnier launches political faction, fueling French presidential bid rumours Archived 12 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine Reuters.
  41. ^ Elisa Braun (16 February 2021), Barnier gathers allies to support national ambitions Archived 16 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine Politico Europe.
  42. ^ "French presidency: Michel Barnier joins race 'to change France'". BBC News. 27 August 2021. Archived from the original on 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  43. ^ "Michel Barnier suggère un «moratoire» de 3 à 5 ans sur l'immigration en Europe". 9 May 2021. Archived from the original on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  44. ^ "Économie, sécurité, immigration... Le programme des 5 candidats à l'investiture LR". Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  45. ^ "Michel Barnier: why is the EU's former Brexit chief negotiator sounding like a Eurosceptic?". The Guardian. 26 September 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  46. ^ "Barnier the Brexiteer? French candidate gets tough with EU on campaign trail". Politico. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  47. ^ Richard Lough (2 December 2021), Pecresse emerges as favourite to win French centre-right's presidential ticket Archived 4 December 2021 at the Wayback Machine Reuters.
  48. ^ Calcea, Nicu (11 April 2022). "How the centre-left and centre-right in France collapsed". New Statesman. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  49. ^ "French Socialist, Green, conservative candidates back Macron in election run-off against Le Pen". France 24. 10 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  50. ^ "DIRECT. Législatives : Gérald Darmanin appelle le camp présidentiel à «travailler avec LR»". Le Parisien. 16 July 2024. Retrieved 16 July 2024.
  51. ^ "Live blog: Macron names Michel Barnier new prime minister". France24. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  52. ^ "Macron's Choice of French Premier Shows His Ambitions Unraveling". Bloomberg.com. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  53. ^ Sustainability and Legacy Commission Archived 19 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine International Olympic Committee (IOC).
  54. ^ Board of Trustees[permanent dead link] Friends of Europe.
  55. ^ "My Secret Brexit Diary by Michel Barnier review – a British roasting". The Guardian. 25 September 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  56. ^ Ockrent, Christine (2018). "Who is Michel Barnier? Meet the EU's chief Brexit negotiator". Prospect. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  57. ^ "Ordre de la Légion d'Honneur: Décret du 11 juillet 1997 portant promotion et nomination". Légifrance. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  58. ^ "Décret n° 2002-88 du 17 janvier 2002 relatif à l'ordre du Mérite maritime". Légifrance. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  59. ^ "Resolución N° 939/997". www.impo.com.uy. Archived from the original on 31 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  60. ^ "President of the Republic has awarded Michel Barnier". presidencia.pt. 17 January 2019. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
  61. ^ "Michel Barnier awarded the Star of Romania National Order by president Iohannis". stiripesurse.ro. 18 February 2021. Archived from the original on 5 September 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
[edit]
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Political offices
Preceded by Minister of the Environment
1993–1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister Delegate for European Affairs
1995–1997 		Succeeded by
Preceded by French European Commissioner
1999–2004
Served alongside: Pascal Lamy 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Preceded by European Commissioner for Regional Policy
1999–2004
Preceded by Minister of Foreign Affairs
2004–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
2007–2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by French European Commissioner
2010–2014 		Succeeded by
Preceded by European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services
2010–2014 		Succeeded byas European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
Succeeded byas European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union
Preceded by Prime Minister of France
2024–present 		Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded byas President of the Republic Order of precedence in France
Prime Minister 		Succeeded byas President of the Senate
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