Valérie Létard (born 13 October 1962 in

Orchies Orchies (; nl, Oorschie) is a commune in the department of Nord in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. Orchies is the biggest town of the Pévèle. It is especially known for its ''Musée de la chicorée'', the museum of chicory. ...

, Nord) is a French politician of the

Union of Democrats and Independents The Union of Democrats and Independents (french: Union des démocrates et indépendants, UDI) is a centre to centre-right political party in France and former electoral alliance founded on 18 September 2012 on the basis of the parliamentary grou ...

(UDI) who served as Secretary of State for Solidarity in the government of

François Fillon François Charles Armand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a retired French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of the Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

from 2007 to 2010.

Political career

Member of the Senate, 2008–present

Since 10 April 2008, Létard has been the President of the Valenciennes Agglomeration Community, elected with 83 percent of the vote.

Career in government

Létard served 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 i ...

under

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 ...

Nicolas Sarkozy, first as Secretary of State for Solidarity (2007-2009) and later for Climate (2009-2010). During her time in office, she launched the government’s campaign in 2009 to warn potential victims of forced marriages and female genital mutilation.

Later career

On 1 October 2011 Létard was a candidate for the Presidency of the Senate, against the outgoing president,

Gérard Larcher Gérard Philippe René André Larcher (born 14 September 1949) is a French politician serving as President of the Senate since 2014, previously holding the office from 2008 to 2011. A member of The Republicans, he has been a Senator for the Yveli ...

(UMP) and

Jean-Pierre Bel Jean-Pierre Bel (born 30 December 1951) is a French retired politician who served as President of the Senate from 2011 to 2014. From the Ariège department, Bel is a member of the Socialist Party; he was elected to the Senate in September 1998 ...

(PS). She received 29 votes. Ahead of the Republicans’ 2016 primaries, Létard endorsed

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

as the party’s candidate for 2017 presidential elections. In March 2017, in the context of the Fillon affair, she called on LR candidate

to withdraw his candidacy. Following the 2017 legislative elections, Létard reportedly refused offers to become

Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is a ministry of the Government of India with executive authority over the formulation and administration of the rules and regulations and laws relating to the housing and urban development in Ind ...

Édouard Philippe Édouard Charles Philippe (; born 28 November 1970) is a French politician serving as Mayor (France), Mayor of Le Havre since 2020, previously holding the office from 2010 to 2017. He was Prime Minister of France from 15 May 2017 to 3 July 2020 ...

’s

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

.Laurent Decotte (16 May 2017)
Ministre du Logement et de la Ville ? Valérie Létard (UDI) a dit non à Macron
'' La Voix du Nord''. On 4 October 2017 she was elected Vice-President of the

French Senate The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' a ...

instead, under the leadership of Gérard Larcher.

References

External links

Official web site of Valérie Létard

1962 births Living people People from Nord (French department) Social Democratic Party (France) politicians Union for French Democracy politicians French Senators of the Fifth Republic The Centrists politicians Women members of the Senate (France) 21st-century French women politicians Union of Democrats and Independents politicians Women government ministers of France Senators of Nord (French department) Politicians from Hauts-de-France {{France-politician-UDI-stub