Jean-Claude Gaudin (; born 8 October 1939) is a French politician for The Republicans. He served as the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

from 1995 to 2020. He was a member of the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are know ...

from

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( , , ; oc, Bocas de Ròse ; "Mouths of the Rhône") is a department in Southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the south. Its prefecture and ...

from 1978 to 1989 and has been a member of the French Senate from 1989 to 1995 and again from 1998. From 1995 to 1997, he served as Minister of Territorial Development in Alain Juppé's Second Cabinet. He served as Vice-President of the Senate from 1998 to 2011; as Vice-President of UMP 2002–2007 and as one of several Vice-Presidents for UMP 2013–2014.

Biography

Early life

Jean-Claude Gaudin was born on October 8, 1939 in

Mazargues Mazargues is a former village and now a neighbourhood of the 9th arrondissement in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. History Françoise-Marguerite de Sévigné (1646–1705), a French aristocrat, had a bastide in Mazargues. On February 5, 1 ...

, a neighbourhood of the 9th arrondissement in

, France.Ariane Chemin, Gilles Rof
A Marseille, l'ogre Gaudin
''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', 28.09.2013 His ancestors lived in Mazargues since 1600. His father was a mason and his mother, as an

espadrille Espadrilles (Spanish: ''alpargatas or esparteñas''; Catalan: ''espardenyes''; Basque: ''espartinak'') are casual, rope-soled, flat but sometimes high-heeled shoes. They usually have a canvas or cotton fabric upper and a flexible sole made ...

-maker. They entertained author and playwright

Marcel Pagnol Marcel Paul Pagnol (; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the Académie française. Although his work is less fashionabl ...

(1895-1974), actress

Alida Rouffe Alida Rouffe (1874–1949) was a French actress. Joséphine Marie Rouffe was born on 20 March 1874 in Bordeaux. Her father was mime artist Louis Rouffe (1849-1885). She spent most of her career on stage in the south of France, and like her ...

(1874-1939), and actor

Raimu Jules Auguste Muraire (18 December 1883 – 20 September 1946), whose stage name was Raimu, was a French actor. He is most famous for playing César in the 'Marseilles trilogy' ('' Marius'', '' Fanny'' and '' César''). Life and career Born in T ...

(1883-1946). They also had a small house at the

Calanque de Sormiou The Calanque de Sormiou is the biggest calanque of the Calanques National Park, France. Located in the 9th arrondissement of Marseille, it is famous for its climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or any other part o ...

, where they spent their summers. In 1965, he was enrolled in the

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...

where he served briefly. Upon graduation from university, he became a teacher of

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

for fifteen years at Saint-Joseph high school in Marseille. He was elected on the list of

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the ...

and

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

politicians known as the “Removes iron-Rastoin” against the

Gaullist Gaullism (french: link=no, Gaullisme) 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 with ...

party

Union for the New Republic The Union for the New Republic (french: L'Union pour la nouvelle République, UNR), was a French political party founded on 1 October 1958 that supported Prime Minister Charles de Gaulle in the 1958 elections. History The UNR won 206 of 579 s ...

(UNR). He was subsequently elected in a local election and became one of the youngest members of the town council of Marseille. He was re-elected again in 1971.

National Assembly

In 1974, he took part in the presidential campaign of

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ...

. In 1978, he won his first election for the

French National Assembly The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are kn ...

as the candidate in the 2nd district of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

delta. He beat the outgoing socialist deputy, Charles-Emile Loo, with 53.7% of the votes cast. In June 1981, he won reelection. He then became president of the

Union for French Democracy The Union for French Democracy (french: Union pour la démocratie française, UDF) was a centre to centre-right political party in France. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to ...

(UDF) group to the French National Assembly. In 1986, he was given the responsibility for the executive of Provence the Alps Rivieras. On 25 April 1986, he became president of the first regional council of

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (; or , ; commonly shortened to PACA; en, Provence-Alps-French Riviera, italic=yes; also branded as Région Sud) is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, the far southeastern on the mainland. Its pre ...

elected by direct vote. In 1988, after the dissolution of the French National Assembly, he was again re-elected, for the 4th time, deputy of the Rhone delta for 2nd district of Marseille, with 60.63% of the votes cast. His presidency of the UDF Group to the French National Assembly was also renewed.

Senate, Mayor of Marseille and Minister

In September 1989, he was a candidate for the senatorial elections and won the district. In 1992, the renewal of the regional council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur enlisted much media interest. He then had to face the growing power of

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated fro ...

and the

Front National The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as far-right: Academic: * ...

. At the end of a harsh and difficult campaign, he carried the vote again, beating

Bernard Tapie Bernard Roger Tapie (; 26 January 1943 – 3 October 2021) was a French businessman, politician and occasional actor, singer, and TV host. He was Minister of City Affairs in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy. Life and career Tapie was bor ...

and Jean-Marie Le Pen. He was also re-elected president of the regional council on 27 March 1992. In 1983, Gaudin tried to unseat

Gaston Defferre Gaston Defferre (14 September 1910 – 7 May 1986) was a French Socialist politician. He served as mayor of Marseille for 33 years until his death in 1986. He was minister for overseas territories in Guy Mollet’s socialist government in 1956� ...

of Marseille, and lost for a handful of votes. In 1989, he was expected to win against Defferre's successor

Robert Vigouroux Robert Vigouroux (21 March 1923 – 9 July 2017) was a French politician and writer. He was the Mayor of Marseille (the second largest city in France) from 1986 to 1995, and a French Senator for the Bouches-du-Rhone from 1989 to 1998.'Municipa ...

, but lost again. In 1995, Gaudin stood for the post of Mayor along with maintaining his position as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. He won with an absolute majority of 55 City council men out of 101 and was installed as Mayor of Marseille on 25 June 1995. On 7 November 1995, on a proposal from

Alain Juppé Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced major strikes that paralysed the cou ...

, the President of the Republic

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a Politics of France, French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to ...

named Jean-Claude Gaudin Minister for Integration and City and Regional Planning. On 14 July 1997, he was made Chevalier of the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. On 6 October 1998, he became Vice-President of the Senate. He was re-elected Mayor of Marseilles again on 25 March 2001 as well as 16 March 2008, and president of the Urban Community Marseilles Provence Métropole on 11 April. On 3 October 2001, Jean-Claude Gaudin was re-elected as Vice-President of the Senate for a second time. In 2004, he was re-elected for a third time as Vice-President of the Senate. In 2004, Gaudin was interim president of the UMP after

stepped down and before

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. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

was elected. In 2013, he announced he would run for Mayor a fourth time. In the first round of

the election ''The Election'' () is a political drama series produced by Hong Kong Television Network (HKTV). With a budget of HK$15 million, filming started in July 2014 and wrapped up on 28 October 2014. Popularly voted to be the inaugural drama of ...

, he obtained 37,64% of the votes. In the second round he garnered 42,39% while the Socialist candidate got 31,09 and Front National's candidate 26,51. On 4 April, the municipal council in Marseille elected him as mayor for a new period with no opposing candidate.Gilles Rof (4 April 2014
Jean-Claude Gaudin élu maire avec toutes ses voix
''

'' (blog)

Personal life

Gaudin is a practising Catholic. He lives in a rented apartment in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residentia ...

during the week and spends his weekends in a mansion in

Saint-Zacharie Saint-Zacharie (; Provençal: ''Sant Jacariá'') is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Population Points of interest * Parc du Moulin Blanc * Eglise saint-jean baptiste * Châtea ...

References

External links

* * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaudin, Jean Claude 1939 births Living people 20th-century French politicians 21st-century French politicians Union for a Popular Movement politicians The Republicans (France) politicians Departmental councillors (France) Mayors of Marseille Olympique de Marseille chairmen Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Senators of Bouches-du-Rhône Politicians from Marseille Government ministers of France Presidents of French regions and overseas collectivities Deputies of the 6th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 7th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 8th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 9th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic