Brigitte Kuster (née Thomas, born April 12, 1959) is a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

for the 4th constituency of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

from 2017 to 2022. A member of The Republicans (LR), her constituency covers parts of the 16th and 17th arrondissements. Kuster previously served as

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

of the 17th arrondissement from 2008 to 2017.

Political career

A journalist by occupation, she started her career at

Europe 1 Europe 1, (''Europe un'') formerly known as Europe nº 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. It was owned and operated by Lagardère News, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it was one of the leading radio broadcasting s ...

before becoming a public servant at the Ministry of the Environment. She was elected to the

Council of Paris The Council of Paris ( French: ''Conseil de Paris'', ) is the deliberative body responsible for governing Paris, the capital of France. It possesses both the powers of a municipal council (''conseil municipal'') and those of a departmental co ...

in the 2001 municipal election and became Mayor of the 17th arrondissement seven years later. In January 2016, Kuster was appointed party spokesperson under the leadership of

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 ...

, alongside

Guillaume Peltier Guillaume Peltier (; born 27 August 1976) is a French politician, former teacher and business leader, who was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2024. He represented the 2nd constituency of the Loir-et-Cher department in t ...

, Valérie Debord and

Guillaume Larrivé Guillaume Larrivé (; born 24 January 1977) is a French politician, lawyer and civil servant who represented the Yonne's 1st constituency, 1st constituency of the Yonne department in the National Assembly (France), National Assembly from 2012 Fren ...

. She retained the position until December 2017. In Parliament, where she succeeded

Bernard Debré Bernard Debré (30 September 194413 September 2020) was a French Urology, urologist at Hôpital Cochin and a member (Deputy (France), deputy) of the National Assembly of France. He was one of the representatives of the city of Paris, and was ...

after the 2017 legislative election, Kuster served on the Committee on Cultural Affairs and Education. In addition to her committee assignments, she is part of the French-Cambodian Parliamentary Friendship Group, the French-Haitian Parliamentary Friendship Group and the French-Tunisian Parliamentary Friendship Group. In a ranking published by ''

Le Parisien ''Le Parisien'' (; ) is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of ...

'' in early 2021, Kuster was ranked as most active lawmaker, having attended more parliamentary sessions than any other member of the National Assembly between 2017 and 2020. She lost her seat in the second round in the

2022 French legislative election Legislative elections in France, Legislative elections were held in France on 12 and 19 June 2022 to elect the 577 Deputy (France), members of the 16th National Assembly (France), National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic. Th ...

Political positions

In the 2016 The Republicans presidential primary, Kuster endorsed

as the party's candidate for the office of

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

. In the Republicans' 2017 leadership election, she endorsed

Laurent Wauquiez Laurent Timothée Marie Wauquiez (; born 12 April 1975) is a French politician who has presided over the Regional Council of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes from 2016 to 2024. He is a member of The Republicans (LR), which he led from 2017 to 2019 follow ...

. Ahead of the 2022 presidential elections, she publicly declared her support for

Michel Barnier Michel Jean Barnier (; born 9 January 1951) is a French politician who was Prime Minister of France from September to December 2024. A member of a series of Gaullist parties ( UDR, RPR, UMP, LR), Barnier has served in several French cabinet p ...

as the Republicans’ candidate.Emmanuel Galiero (1 October 2021)
Présidentielle 2022 : Michel Barnier engrange le soutien de 51 parlementaires de droite
''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuster, Brigitte 1959 births Living people The Republicans (France) politicians People from Saint-Cloud Politicians from Île-de-France Mayors of arrondissements of Paris Deputies of the 15th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Women mayors of places in France Women members of the National Assembly (France) 21st-century French women politicians