Michel Barnier
Michel Barnier | |
---|---|
European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services | |
In office 9 February 2010 – 1 November 2014 | |
President | José Manuel Barroso |
Preceded by | Charlie McCreevy |
Succeeded by | Elżbieta Bieńkowska (Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) Jonathan Hill (Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union) |
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries | |
In office 19 June 2007 – 22 June 2009 | |
Prime Minister | François Fillon |
Preceded by | Christine Lagarde |
Succeeded by | Bruno Le Maire |
Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
In office 31 March 2004 – 31 March 2005 | |
Prime Minister | Jean-Pierre Raffarin |
Preceded by | Dominique de Villepin |
Succeeded by | Philippe Douste-Blazy |
European Commissioner for Regional Policy | |
In office 13 September 1999 – 31 March 2004 | |
President | Romano Prodi |
Preceded by | Monika Wulf-Mathies |
Succeeded by | Jacques Barrot |
Minister of State for European Affairs | |
In office 18 May 1995 – 3 June 1997 | |
Prime Minister | Alain Juppé |
Minister of the Environment and Way of Life | |
In office 29 March 1993 – 18 March 1995 | |
Prime Minister | Édouard Balladur |
Personal details | |
Born | La Tronche, France | 9 January 1951
Political party | Rally for the Republic (Before 2002) Union for a Popular Movement (2002–present) |
Spouse | Isabelle Altmayer |
Alma mater | ESCP Europe |
Michel Barnier (born 9 January 1951) is a French Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) politician and Vice President of the European People's Party (EPP).
Barnier was appointed Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries in the French government on 18 June 2007, stepping down on 7 June 2009 upon his election as an Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He served as European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services under Barroso.
He has been appointed as Chief Negotiator in charge of the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 of the TEU.[1][2]
Early life and education
Born at La Tronche in Isère, Rhône-Alpes, Barnier graduated from ESCP Europe in 1972.
Political career
National politics
Barnier served on the staff of various Gaullist ministers in the 1970s, before being elected in 1978, aged 27, to the French National Assembly as Deputy for the Department of Savoie representing the neo-Gaullists, Rally for the Republic (RPR), serving until 1993.
Together with Jean-Claude Killy he organised the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville as co-president of the COJO (Comité d'Organisation des Jeux Olympiques).
Barnier first joined the French Cabinet as Minister of the Environment following the Right's landslide victory in the 1993 legislative election. In 1995, Jacques Chirac appointed him Secretary of State for European Affairs, serving as such until the defeat of the presidential majority in the 1997 legislative election. Barnier then served as a European Commissioner for Regional Policy in the Prodi Commission from 1999 until 31 March 2004. Then he served as Foreign Minister of France in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's government until 5 June 2005 when Dominique de Villepin replaced him with Philippe Douste-Blazy. He considered he was unjustly sanctioned for the victory of the "No" in the French referendum over the European Constitution.
In March 2006, Barnier was elected Vice President of the European People's Party (EPP) for a three-year term. Under Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency, upon the reshuffle of the French cabinet, caused by the resignation of Alain Juppé after the 2007 French legislative election, he re-joined the French Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture.
European politics
Barnier worked in 2006 as a special adviser to José Manuel Barroso, the then President of the European Commission, and presented a report to the Council of Ministers proposing the creation of a European civil-protection force.[3] Between 2006 and 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.
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.[4][5][6] In charge of European banking system reform, he argues for a "coherent single market with intelligent rules that apply everywhere".[7]
He was twice appointed Acting Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship in Antonio Tajani's stead, from 19 April 2014 – 25 May 2014 while he was on electoral campaign leave for the 2014 elections to the European Parliament and from 1 July 2014 – 16 July 2014 after he took up his seat.[8][9]
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 the Single Supervisory Mechanism) and the digital single market.[10]
Since 2015, Barnier has been serving as unpaid Special Adviser on European Defence Policy to President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.[11][12] On 27 July 2016, he 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."[13]
Timeline
European Commission
European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services : 2010–14
European Commissioner for Regional Policy : 1999–2004
French Government
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries : 2007–09
Minister of Foreign Affairs : 2004–05
Minister of European Affairs : 1995–97
Minister of the Environment : 1993–95
Electoral mandates
European Parliament
Member of European Parliament : 2009–10 (Resignation)
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Savoie : 1978–93 (Became minister in 1993). Elected in 1978, reelected in 1981, 1986, 1988, 1993.
Senate of France
Senator of Savoie : Elected in 1995, but he remains minister / 1997–1999 (Resignation, became European commissioner in 1999).
General Council
President of the General Council of Savoie : 1982–99 (Resignation, became European commissioner in 1999). Reelected in 1985, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998.
General councillor of Savoie : 1973–99 (Resignation, became European commissioner in 1999). Reelected in 1979, 1985, 1992, 1998.
Honours
- Officer, Légion d'honneur
- Grand Cross, Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Barnier as special adviser European Voice, February 19, 2015.
- ^ "Michel Barnier to take over internal market portfolio". Euobserver. 27 November 2009.
- ^ Philip Aldrick (30 November 2009). "Michel Barnier looks to calm City nerves about reform". The Telegraph. London.
- ^ "Summary of Hearing of Michel Barnier". European Parliament. 13 January 2010.
- ^ Castle, Stephen (12 July 2013). "European Union Offers Berlin Compromise on Bank Proposal". The New York Times.
- ^ EU Observer – Six Commissioners Head for EU Election Campaign Trail
- ^ KUNA – Barroso announces caretaker replacements following resignation of 4 EU Commissioners
- ^ Five years of laying the foundations of new growth in Europe (PDF). European Commission. 2014.
- ^ Special Advisers to the President, Vice-Presidents and Commissioners of the European Commission European Commission.
- ^ Simon Taylor (March 9, 2015), European Commission special advisers European Voice.
- ^ Khan, Mehreen (27 July 2016). "Michel Barnier appointed as Juncker's Brexit chief". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
External links
- Michel Barnier Official Media Gallery
- Personal Website at the European Commission
- Use dmy dates from June 2011
- 1951 births
- Living people
- 21st-century French politicians
- French European Commissioners
- French Foreign Ministers
- French Ministers of Agriculture
- French Ministers of the Environment
- French Secretaries of State for European Affairs
- MEPs for Île-de-France 2009–14
- Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
- People from La Tronche
- Rally for the Republic politicians
- Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Union for a Popular Movement MEPs
- Union for a Popular Movement politicians
- ESCP Europe alumni