Philippe Douste-Blazy (; born 1 January 1953) is a French

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

official and former

centre-right Centre-right politics lean to the right of the political spectrum, but are closer to the centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure and the economy, moving away from the nobility and ...

politician. Over the course of his career, he served as

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under ...

, Special Adviser on Innovative Financing for Development in the UN and chairman of

UNITAID Unitaid is a global health initiative that works with partners to bring about innovations to prevent, diagnose and treat major diseases in low- and middle-income countries, with an emphasis on tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV/AIDS and its deadly co ...

. He previously served as French

Minister for Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

(1993–1995 and 2004–2005), Minister of Culture (1995–1997) and as

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

in the cabinet of

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 ...

(2005–2007). He was

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 ...

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Châ ...

1989–2000 and mayor of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

2001–2004. Originally a member of the

Centre of Social Democrats The Centre of Social Democrats (''Centre des démocrates sociaux'', CDS; also translated as ''Democratic and Social Centre'') was a Christian-democratic and centrist political party in France. It existed from 1976 to 1995 and was based directly a ...

(CDS), the

Christian Democrat Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...

component 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) party, he later joined the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Soci ...

. A

cardiologist Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular ...

by profession, he became professor at Toulouse Sciences University in 1988.

Early years

Born in

in the

Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/ Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs es, Altos Pirineos; ca, Alts Pirineus alts piɾiˈneʊs English: Upper Pyrenees) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. ...

, Douste-Blazy studied medicine in

, where he had his first job in 1976. He then worked as a

in Lourdes and Toulouse, namely in Purpan's hospital from 1986. He then joined the French Society of

Cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular h ...

. He became Professor of Medicine at Toulouse Sciences University in 1988. Since 2016, he has also been a visiting professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Political career

Early beginnings

A member of the

(CDS), the

component of the

(UDF), Douste-Blazy entered politics in March 1989, being elected

. He was also elected national director of the association of research against elevations of

cholesterol Cholesterol is any of a class of certain organic molecules called lipids. It is a sterol (or modified steroid), a type of lipid. Cholesterol is biosynthesized by all animal cells and is an essential structural component of animal cell memb ...

Member of the European Parliament, 1989–1993

In the 1989 European elections, Douste-Blazy was elected

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

in June of the same year. He was then a member of the

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian-democratic, conservative, and liberal-conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other political parties. Founded by primarily ...

. During his time in parliament, Douste-Blazy served on the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection. In addition to his committee assignments, he was a member of the parliament’s delegation to the Joint Assembly of the Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP countries) and the European Economic Community.

Minister of Health, 1993–1995

Elected deputy for

''département'' in March 1993, Douste-Blazy was appointed to the cabinet of Edouard Balladur as Minister-Delegate (a junior minister) at the Ministry for Health. In May 1994, in his capacity as minister, Douste-Blazy visited

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

and refugee camps in neighboring

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

to witness the consequences of the

genocidal Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the L ...

mass slaughter of

Tutsi The Tutsi (), or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi (the other two being the largest Bantu ethnic g ...

by members of Rwanda’s

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the p ...

majority government. During his time in office, France approved a bill which prohibited postmenopausal pregnancy, which Douste-Blazy said was "...immoral as well as dangerous to the health of mother and child." Douste-Blazy stayed at the ministry until the 1995 presidential election. In March 1994, he was elected at

's General Council. He became general secretary of the CDS in December and Government's spokesman one month later.

Minister of Culture, 1995–1997

In May 1995, after the election of

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 ...

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...

, a candidacy he was backing, Douste-Blazy was nominated Minister of Culture. In June, he was also re-elected Mayor of

then, five months later, elected general secretary of Democratic Force, the party which replaced the CDS . In June 1997, the overwhelming defeat of the Presidential Majority during legislative election made him lose his position as Minister of Culture, but he remained deputy of Hautes-Pyrénées and became president of the UDF parliamentary group at 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 ...

. During the election campaign he was badly hurt when a mentally unstable man stabbed him in the back as he was campaigning in Lourdes. It turned out that the Minister's assailant was an Albanian refugee who had already tried to attack Mr Douste-Blazy in 1992. At the head of the centrist parliamentary group, he was often opposed to the UDF party leader

François Bayrou François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has presided over the Democratic Movement (MoDem) since he founded it in 2007. A centrist, he was a candidate in the 2002, 2007 and 2012 presidential elections ...

. Indeed, while this one advocated the emancipation of the UDF towards its Gaullist allies, Douste-Blazy proposed the union of the right-wing parties behind President

Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a 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 1988, as well as May ...

Mayor of Toulouse, 2001–2004

Seeking one of the country's most important municipal seats, Douste-Blazy narrowly won the election for Mayor of

in 2001, which saw the left making its best showing in decades. Once in office, he had to deal with a reinvigorated political opposition, as well as with the dramatic explosion of the AZF plant in late 2001. Douste-Blazy supported

in the two rounds of the 2002 presidential election, in spite of the candidacy of

. Consequently, he participated to the unification of some right-wing groups in the

(UMP) and appeared as a possible Prime Minister. However, once re-elected, President

choose

Jean-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. Howev ...

and Philippe Douste-Blazy refused to resign from its mayoralty to be minister. The same year, he changed of constituency and was elected deputy for

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country' ...

''département''. After the electoral crash of the UMP in the 2004 regional election, Douste-Blazy left its function in

and returned at the Ministry of Health. His predecessor

Jean-François Mattéi Jean-François Mattéi (; 9 March 1941 – 24 March 2014) was a French philosopher and professor of Greek philosophy and political philosophy at the University of Nice A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and ...

was discredited due to his behaviour during the Summer 2003 heatwave crisis. He was the instigator of a new reform of medical insurances.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2005–2007

In a government reshuffle following the rejection of the European constitution in 29 May 2005's referendum, Douste-Blazy replaced

Michel Barnier Michel Barnier (born 9 January 1951) is a French politician who served as the European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom (UK Task Force/UKTF) from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as Chief Negotiator, Task ...

and became

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

in the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. In his capacity as minister, Douste-Blazy summoned

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

's ambassador to France in October 2005, demanding an explanation for President

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),

's public call for Israel to be "wiped off the map." He announced France’s support for the Israeli separation barrier on 25 October 2006.French FM changes his opinion on Israeli separation barrier
EJP In November 2006, he summoned Israel's ambassador to Paris, Daniel Shek to express "serious concern" about violations of a ceasefire that ended the 33-day war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas. During his time in office, France played a central role in international attempts to end the bloodshed in the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

. In October 2006, the

, despite Douste-Blazy’s opposition, passed a bill which if approved by the

Senate 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 ...

and would make

Armenian genocide denial Armenian genocide denial is the claim that the Ottoman Empire and its ruling party, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), did not commit genocide against its Armenian citizens during World War I—a crime documented in a large body o ...

a crime. Douste-Blazy left the position with the departure of

from the Presidency in May 2007. He did not run for a new parliamentary term in the 2007 elections. On 6 November 2007, Douste-Blazy was among the guests invited to the

state dinner A state banquet is an official banquet hosted by the head of state in his or her official residence for another head of state, or sometimes head of government, and other guests. Usually as part of a state visit or diplomatic conference, it is h ...

hosted by President George W. Bush in honor of 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. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

United Nations

While serving as foreign minister of France, Douste-Blazy became chairman of the Executive Board of

, the International Drug Purchase Facility hosted by the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

which France co-founded in 2006. On 19 February 2008, Douste-Blazy was appointed by

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary- ...

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Ministe ...

as Special Adviser on Innovative Financing for Development, with the rank of UN

Under-Secretary-General An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under-s ...

. From 2008 until 2009, he was a member of the High Level Taskforce on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems, co-chaired by

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony ...

and

Robert Zoellick Robert Bruce Zoellick (; ; born July 25, 1953) is an American public official and lawyer who was the eleventh president of the World Bank, a position he held from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2012. He was previously a managing director of Goldman Sach ...

. He is also the chairman of the board of the

Millennium Foundation The Millennium Foundation for Innovative Finance for Health is an independent, non-profit Swiss organization, established in November 2008 in order to create new ways to finance health systems in low- and middle-income countries. Based in Geneva, ...

for Innovate Finance for Health. His main responsibilities as the Special Adviser included promoting UNITAID and other sources of innovative financing for the achievement of the

Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenn ...

(MDGs), advising the

on innovative financing solutions to the implementation of the Monterrey consensus, coordinating with the High-Level Group on the MDGs, and liaising with various UN and non-UN related institutions, such as the main Bretton Woods institutions, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC), the

United Nations Development Group The United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG), previously the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), is a consortium of 36 United Nations funds, programs, specialized agencies, departments and offices that play a role in development ...

and the Millennium Communication Campaign.Global Health Innovators
Huffington Post Douste-Blazy was also in charge of organizing the first World Conference of Non-Governmental Donors, with a special focus on the financing for development provided by citizens, local and regional authorities, foundations, non-governmental organizations, economic and social representatives, faith groups and the private sector. It is hoped that these innovative sources of funding could compensate the insufficient official development assistance in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Ahead of the 2012 presidential elections, Douste-Blazy announced in January 2012 that he no longer supported Nicolas Sarkozy and instead was lending his support to centrist candidate

Political functions

Governmental functions Minister of Health and government's spokesman : 1993–1995. Minister of Culture and government's spokesman : 1995–1997. Minister of Solidarity, Health and Family : 2004–2005. Minister of Foreign Affairs : 2005–2007. Electoral mandates ''European Parliament'' Member of

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...

: 1989–1993 (Became minister in 1993 and elected in parliamentary elections in March 1993). ''National Assembly of France'' President of the group of

: 1998–2002. 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 ...

for

: Elected in March 1993 but he became minister / 1997–2001 (Resignation). Elected in 1993, reelected in 1997. Member of the

for

: 2001–2004 (Became minister in 2004). Elected in 2001, reelected in 2002. ''General Council'' General councillor of

: 1994–2001. ''

Municipal Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

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 ...

: 2001–2004. Deputy-mayor of

: 2004–2008. Municipal councillor of

: 2001–2008.

: 1989–2000 (Resignation). Reelected in 1995. Municipal councillor of

: 1989–2001. Reelected in 1995. ''Urban community Council'' President of the Urban community of Greater Toulouse : 2001–2008. Member of the Urban community of Greater Toulouse : 2001–2008. Political functions General secretary of the

: 2002–2004.

Other activities

* GBCHealth, Member of the Board of Directors * Innovative Finance Foundation (IFF), Member of the Advisory Board * International Consortium on Anti-Virals (ICAV), Member of the Board of Directors

Honours and recognition

* 1997 – Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay *2004 – Honorary Knight Commander of The Most Excellent

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

* 2011 – Clinton Global Citizen Award of the

Clinton Foundation The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was es ...

President Clinton to Honor Recipients of the Fifth Annual Clinton Global Citizen Awards

, press release of 22 September 2011.

References

External links

Official facebook

Philippe Douste-Blazy in Interview with 99FACES.tv - How 1 USD per Plane Ticket can Provide Global Health
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Douste-Blazy, Philippe 1953 births French Foreign Ministers French Ministers of Culture Government ministers of France Government spokespersons of France Living people Mayors of places in Occitania (administrative region) Mayors of Toulouse People from Lourdes Paul Sabatier University alumni French cardiologists Union for a Popular Movement politicians Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations Deputies of the 12th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic French officials of the United Nations Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire