Bernard Pons (18 July 1926 – 27 April 2022) was a French politician and medical doctor who was a member of the Union of Democrats for the Republic from 1971 to 1976 and a member of the

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...

party thereafter. He served as Secretary General of Rally for the Republic, Minister for Transport, and continued as a special 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 ...

until 2008 after his retirement from active politics in 2002.

Early life

Born Claude Bernard Pons on 18 July 1926 in

Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...

, Pons qualified as a doctor and worked as a

general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...

Political career

Pons was elected to the lower house of the

French parliament The French Parliament (, ) is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the Senate (France), Senate (), and the National Assembly (France), National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessi ...

in 1967 and served as a member of this house until 2002. He served in the Ministry of Agriculture from 22 June 1969 to 28 March 1973. In the government of

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

, he served as Minister for Overseas Territory and travelled to Noumea to solve the Ouvéa cave hostage taking situation. In the government of

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 c ...

, he served as Minister of Transport. Pons played a role in helping the

Cahors Cahors (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the western part of Southern France. It is the smallest prefecture among the 13 departments that constitute the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Region. The capital and main city of t ...

wine region to regain its reputation. He successfully lobbied for

Appellation d'origine contrôlée In France, the ''appellation d'origine contrôlée'' (, ; abbr. AOC ) is a label that identifies an agricultural product whose stages of production and processing are carried out in a defined geographical area – the ''terroir'' – and using ...

for the region. This brought significant money to the region. In December 1997 he was appointed a commander of the

Order of Tahiti Nui The Order of Tahiti Nui was established on 5 June 1996 by the Assembly of French Polynesia to reward distinguished merit and achievements in the service to French Polynesia. History The Order of Tahiti Nui was established June 5, 1996 by resolut ...

. Governmental functions Secretary of State for Agriculture: 1969–1973 Minister of Overseas Departments and Territories: 1986–1988 Minister of Planning, Infrastructure and Transport: May–November 1995 Minister of Equipment, Housing, Transport and Tourism: 1995–1997 Electoral mandates ''European Parliament'' Member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

: 1984–1985 (Resignation). Elected in 1984 ''National Assembly of France'' President of the

Group in the National Assembly: 1988–1995 (Became minister in 1995). Elected in 1988, reelected in 1993 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 ...

for Lot's 2nd constituency: 1967–1969 (Became secretary of State in 1969) / 1973–1978. Elected in 1967, reelected in 1968, 1973 Member of the

for Essonne's 2nd constituency: 1978–1981. Elected in 1978 Member of the

for Paris's 22nd constituency: 1981–1986 (Became minister in 1986) Member of the

for Paris's 16th constituency: 1988–1993 (Became minister in 1995) / 1997–2002. Elected in 1981, reelected in 1986, 1988, 1993, 1997 General Council General councillor of

Lot (department) Lot (; �l is a department in the Occitanie region of France. Named after the Lot River, it lies in the southwestern part of the country and had a population of 174,094 in 2019.Councillor of Paris: 1983–2008. Reelected in 1989, 1995, 2001

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pons, Bernard 1926 births 2022 deaths People from Béziers Politicians from Occitania (administrative region) Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Rally for the Republic politicians Union for a Popular Movement politicians Ministers of the overseas of France Ministers of tourism of France Ministers of transport of France Deputies of the 3rd National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 4th 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 Deputies of the 10th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 11th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic MEPs for France 1984–1989 Knights of the Legion of Honour