Bruno Le Maire (; born 15 April 1969) is a French politician, writer, and former diplomat who served as Economy and Finance Minister from 2017 to 2024 under President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

. A former member of The Republicans (LR), which he left in 2017 to join

La République En Marche! Renaissance (RE) is a political party in France that is typically described as liberal and centrist or centre-right. The party was originally known as (EM) and later (, LREM, LaREM or REM), before adopting its current name in September 2022 ...

(LREM), he was Secretary of State for European Affairs from 2008 to 2009 and Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fishing from 2009 to 2012 under President

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

.Webpage
Le Maire is also a noted author, with his book ''Des hommes d'État'' winning the 2008 Edgar Faure Prize.

Early life and education

Bruno Le Maire was born on 15 April 1969 in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

.Biography
He is the son of Maurice Le Maire, an executive at the oil company Total, and Viviane Fradin de Belâbre, a headmistress of private Catholic schools, mainly Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague.John Irish (17 May 2017)
Macron picks pro-EU conservative Le Maire as French finance chief
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

''. Le Maire was educated at Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague until he obtained his

baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

. Le Maire began attending the

École normale supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

in 1989, and then

Paris-Sorbonne University Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; ) was a public university, public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Paris. In 2018, it m ...

, where he studied French literature. He graduated from

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

in 1995, and was accepted into the

École nationale d'administration The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...

(ÉNA) in 1996.OECD

Bruno Le Maire is married to painter Pauline Doussau de Bazignan, who is the mother of his four sons. His wife was employed as his parliamentary assistant from 2007 to 2013. Le Maire is fluent in French, English, Italian and German.

Career

Early beginnings

After leaving the ÉNA in 1998, Bruno Le Maire found a job in the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. He eventually joined the team assisting the Secretary General of the Office of the President,

Dominique de Villepin Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac. In his career working at the Ministry ...

. He went on to a role of Foreign Affairs Advisor in the ministry in 2002, then onto an advisor role in the Interior Ministry in 2004. Following several roles in Government including one working directly with Dominique de Villepin, Le Maire was chosen to be political advisor to the Prime Minister. In July 2006, Le Maire was appointed to the office of Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, replacing Pierre Mongin; he remained in the role until De Villepin's departure from the office of Prime Minister. From 2007 to 2008, he was a member of the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...

, representing Eure's 1st constituency. After becoming a political advisor to the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...

(UMP), Le Maire was appointed Secretary of State in charge of European Affairs, replacing Jean-Pierre Jouyet, in December 2008, serving until 2009. From 2008, Le Maire served as a political advisor for the UMP. He also serves as a council member of

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. History Antiquity In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century AD, was named '' Mediolanum Aulercorum'', "the central town ...

Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fishing, 2009–2012

In June 2009, Le Maire became the new Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fishing in the government of François Fillon. During his tenure at the Ministry, he created a new framework to modernize French agriculture, food and fishing. He also hosted the G20 Agriculture summit in 2011, which resulted in the creation of AMIS ( Agricultural Market Information System). The main objective of AMIS is to monitor the global agricultural market under a rotating presidency. An intervention Forum can be convoked if the presiding country judges it necessary.

Candidacies for leadership roles

In August 2012, Le Maire announced that he would be a candidate for the presidency of the

, competing against former Prime Minister François Fillon, Secretary General Jean-François Copé and former Minister of Ecology Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet. He decided to develop a reformist line and to focus his campaign around four main axes: * Enhancing European economic integration * Strengthening French entrepreneurship and economy * Going back to the values of respect and authority in society * Renewing generations in political parties. He failed however to obtain the necessary number of sponsors. In November 2014, Le Maire obtained 29.8% of votes against Nicolas Sarkozy in the election for the presidency of The Republicans (formerly UMP). Le Maire was considered a serious challenger of the 2016 centre-right primary as the polls suggested he could be third-placed but got a poor result with 2.4%. He became LR candidate François Fillon’s international affairs spokesman, but resigned when Fillon was embroiled in a financial scandal during his campaign. Le Maire has since distanced himself from his party, calling for the right to work constructively with Macron to ensure the president's five years in office succeeds and prevents the far-right National Front making further electoral inroads. On 17 May 2017, The Republicans Secretary-General Bernard Accoyer issued a statement that anyone from the party that was a member of the government was no longer a member, including Le Maire.

Minister of the Economy and Finance, 2017–2024

In May 2017, Le Maire was appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Minister of the Economy in the first Philippe government. In this capacity, he is supported by Budget Minister Gerald Darmanin. Shortly after being appointed as the Minister of the Economy, Le Maire became a member of

following conflicting reports that he was excluded from The Republicans party. Le Maire was able to win reelection in his constituency after beating National Front candidate, Fabienne Delacour. He was appointed Minister of the Economy and Finance in the second Philippe government on 19 June 2017. By November 2017, Le Maire was reported to explore his options to succeed

Jeroen Dijsselbloem Jeroen René Victor Anton Dijsselbloem (; born 29 March 1966) is a Dutch politician and economist serving as Mayor of Eindhoven since 13 September 2022, succeeding John Jorritsma ( VVD). A member of the Labour Party (PvdA), he has also been Cha ...

as the next President of the

Eurogroup The Eurogroup is the recognised collective term for the informal meetings of the finance ministers of the eurozone—those member states of the European Union (EU) which have adopted the euro as their official currency. The group has 20 members ...

; the role of which was eventually given to Mário Centeno of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. In 2019, he led the European Union's selection process for a European candidate to succeed Christine Lagarde as managing director of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

. On 5 June 2022, Le Maire said that France negotiated with the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

to replace some oil imports from Russia. In September 2023, Le Maire took part in one of the German cabinet’s weekly meetings, chaired by

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Olaf Scholz. In October 2023, he participated in the first joint cabinet retreat of the German and French governments in Hamburg, chaired by Scholz and Macron. On 21 September 2024, when the ministers of Barnier government were announced, he was replaced by Antoine Armand as economy and finance minister, ending his 7-year and 4-month tenure.

Other activities

European Union organisations

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the 27 member states. It is the largest multilateral financial institution in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt sol ...

(EIB), ''ex officio'' member of the Board of Governors *

European Stability Mechanism The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is an intergovernmental organization located in Luxembourg City, which operates under public international law for all eurozone member states having ratified a special ESM intergovernmental treaty. It was ...

(ESM), member of the Board of Governors

International organisations

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank to promote social and economic development in Asia. The bank is headquartered in Metro Manila, Philippines and maintains 31 field offices around the world. The bank was establishe ...

(ADB), ''ex officio'' member of the Board of Governors *

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank and international financial institution that aims to collectively improve economic and social outcomes in Asia. It is the world's second largest multi-lateral d ...

(AIIB), ''ex officio'' member of the Board of Governors *

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

(EBRD), ''ex officio'' member of the Board of Governors * Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), ''ex officio'' member of the Board of Governors *

(IMF), ''ex officio'' member of the Board of Governors * Joint World Bank-IMF Development Committee, Member * Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA),

World Bank Group The World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations that make leveraged loans to developing countries. It is the largest and best-known development bank in the world and an observer at the United Nations Development Group ...

, ''ex officio'' member of the Board of Governors *

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, ''ex officio'' member of the Board of Governors

Non-profit organisations

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decis ...

(ECFR), member * Hertie School of Governance, member of the Board of Trustees * Long-Term Investors Club, member * Permanent Platform of

Atomium Culture The Atomium ( , , ) is a landmark Modern architecture, modernist building in Brussels, Belgium, originally constructed as the centrepiece of the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo 58). Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn and the architects ...

, member of the Advisory Board

Speakers bureaus

Washington Speakers Bureau Washington Speakers Bureau (WSB) is a privately held speakers agency founded in 1980 and headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The company was founded in 1980 by Bernie Swain, Paula Swain, and Harry Rhoads, Jr. In 2000, the com ...

, exclusive speaker

Political positions

Domestic policy

During the conservative primaries in 2016, Le Maire shifted to the right, taking a tough stance on law and order and national identity issues. He called for the immediate expulsion of foreigners regarded as suspect by the security services, the

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or is under sen ...

of foreign nationals who complete jail terms, and a curb of refugee numbers.

Economic policy

Steven Mnuchin and Bruno Le Maire at G20 Riyadh Summit

Le Maire has set out a free-market economic agenda, calling for the privatisation of France's labour offices, the end of subsidised jobs and capping of welfare benefits. Since taking office, he has steered Macron's drive to lighten the government touch on the economy and cut red-tape, and is overseeing a push to privatize airports and other state-controlled companies. In 2016, however, Le Maire was quoted as saying the prospect of Britain leaving the European Union was a "fabulous opportunity for France" as it would remove the bloc's main champion of deregulation.Nicholas Vinocur (18 August 2016)
Brexit is ‘fabulous’ for France, says Bruno Le Maire
''

Politico Europe ''Politico Europe'' (stylized as ''POLITICO Europe'') is the European edition of the American news organization '' Politico'' reporting on political affairs of the European Union. Its headquarters are located in Brussels with additional offices in ...

''. He vowed on 9 July 2017 to put forward a plan to protect French companies from foreign takeovers. On foreign trade, Le Maire expressed his opposition against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and also argued for a more protectionist trade policy in order to better defend against "dumping" by

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

.Nicholas Vinocur (11 May 2016)
From ‘yes man’ to his own man: Bruno Le Maire’s EU gamble
''

''. In August 2017, Le Maire called upon EU nations to step up efforts to address how they tax the

digital economy The digital economy is a portmanteau of digital computing and economy, and is an umbrella term that describes how traditional Brick and mortar, brick-and-mortar economic activities (production, distribution, trade) are being transformed by the ...

and stated that a "new momentum" was needed to get a fairer contribution from digital platforms, after a report that

Airbnb Airbnb, Inc. ( , an abbreviation of its original name, "Air Bed and Breakfast") is an American company operating an online marketplace for short-and-long-term homestays, experiences and services in various countries and regions. It acts as a ...

paid less than €100,000 of taxes in France in 2016. He categorised low tax payments as "unacceptable". Amid the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, Le Maire and his German counterpart Olaf Scholz were credited as instrumental in overcoming Dutch and Italian resistance and securing the EU's 500 billion euros emergency deal to provide financial aid to workers, companies and governments struggling as a result of the virus. In July 2020, Le Marie announced that the

French government The Government of France (, ), officially the Government of the French Republic (, ), exercises Executive (government), executive power in France. It is composed of the Prime Minister of France, prime minister, who is the head of government, ...

will cut taxes French companies have to pay in addition to normal corporate

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

by 20 million euros over the course of next two years.

Brexit

On Brexit itself, Le Maire caused controversy on 20 July 2017 when he told the French Parliament's economic affairs committee: "The United Kingdom has a remaining balance to pay to the EU budget of €100 billion" The view held by Le Maire has been shared by European Leaders since April 2017 with some of them believing the "divorce-bill" will lead the UK to owing the European Union £50 billion He also promised to set up a special court to handle English-law cases for financial contracts after

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

during a conference in New York. Speaking to the ''BBC'' in January 2019, Le Maire said the

Brexit withdrawal agreement The Brexit withdrawal agreement, officially titled Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, is a treaty between the European Uni ...

could not be renegotiated and it was up to the UK to find way through the impasse. He also said a no-deal Brexit would be "catastrophic" for the UK.

Foreign policy

On foreign policy, Le Maire is a traditional

Gaullist Gaullism ( ) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle withdrew French forces from t ...

, favouring French national independence. He has argued for a reinforced European defense policy to secure the bloc's exterior borders and fight terrorism, with more spending on the military by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in particular. In February 2019, Le Maire criticized Germany's ban on arms sales to

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Le Maire said: "It is useless to produce weapons through improved cooperation between France and Germany if we are unable to export them." Germany imposed the ban after the

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

of Saudi journalist

Jamal Khashoggi Jamal Ahmad Hamza Khashoggi (13 October 1958 – 2 October 2018) was a Saudi journalist, Saudi dissidents, dissident, author, columnist for ''Middle East Eye'' and ''The Washington Post'', and a general manager and editor-in-chief of Al-Arab New ...

and over human rights concerns about the

Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from West Asia and North Africa, launched a military intervention in Yemen at the request of Yemeni president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who had been ousted from the capital, Sa ...

. On 1 March 2022, Le Maire warned that the EU "will bring about the collapse" of the

Russian economy The economy of Russia is an Developing country, emerging and developing, World Bank high-income economy, high-income, industrialized, mixed economy, mixed Market economy, market-oriented economy. —Rosefielde, Steven, and Natalia Vennikova. " ...

. He said France rejected Russia's demand that foreign buyers must pay in

rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...

for Russian gas from 1 April, adding that "we are preparing" for a "situation tomorrow in which ... there is no longer any Russian gas."

Controversy

In 2019, Le Maire received several letters containing death threats, including one with bullets enclosed.Sophie Louet (11 September 2019)
Bullets, death threats sent to French finance minister: aide
''

''. In 2021,

reported that Le Maire's phone was investigated to determine whether it had been infected by a spyware known as

Pegasus Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood w ...

. In 2023, his novel ''Fugue Américaine,'' about the pianist

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (November 5, 1989) was a Russian and American pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, he was known for his virtuoso technique, timbre, and the public excitement engendered by his playing. Life ...

, was criticized, notably for its inclusion of an explicit sex scene, in the French media. He was accused of spending his time writing while the country was rocked by social tension.

Personal life

Le Maire is married to Pauline Doussau de Bazignan. They have four children. The family has a holiday home in Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle.

Depictions in Film

In the movie ''La Conquête'' (''The Conquest''), released in 2011 about

's career, he was played by Emmanuel Noblet. Le Maire briefly appeared in Bertrand Tavernier's film The French Minister (2013) as himself.

Honours

French Honours

* : Commander of the

Ordre du Mérite Maritime The () is a French order established on 9 February 1930 for services rendered by seafarers to recognise the risks involved and the services rendered by seamen, and reflect the important economic role of the Merchant Navy to the country. The or ...

(2009) * : Commander of the Ordre du Mérite Agricole ''ex officio'' as Minister of Agriculture

Foreign Honours

* : Commander 1st Class of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

(2018) * : Knight Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(2022) * : Commander of the

National Order of the Lion The National Order of the Lion () is the highest order of Senegal. The order was instituted by Law 60-36 of 22 October 1960 and was awarded to His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I The FIRST as The Grand Cross of The National Order of the Lion ...

(2019)

Others

* "Humor and Politics Prize" awarded by the Press Club of France (2016)

Bibliography

* ''Le Ministre''. Éditions Grasset, 2004 * ''Des hommes d'Etat''. Éditions Grasset, 2007 (2008 Edgar Faure Prize) *''Jours de pouvoir''.

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003, it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by G ...

, 2013 *''Fugue américaine''.

, 2023

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Maire, Bruno 1969 births Living people Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni École Normale Supérieure alumni Sciences Po alumni École nationale d'administration alumni Hertie School people Ministers of agriculture of France Finance ministers of France Deputies of the 13th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 14th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 15th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Renaissance (French political party) politicians Politicians from Neuilly-sur-Seine Politicians from Île-de-France The Republicans (France) politicians Members of the Borne government Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Senegal Members of the Attal government