Charles Marie Philippe Millon (; born 13 November 1945) is a French politician who served as

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

from 1995 to 1997 under Prime Minister

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 ...

. A former member of the

Union for French Democracy The Union for French Democracy ( ; UDF) was a centre-right political party in France. The UDF was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over ...

(UDF), he represented

Ain Ain (, ; ) is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

in 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 ...

(1978–1995; 1997–2001), where he took the presidency of the UDF group over from

Jean-Claude Gaudin Jean-Claude Gaudin (; 8 October 1939 – 20 May 2024) was a French politician for The Republicans. He served as the Mayor of Marseille from 1995 to 2020. Gaudin was a member of the National Assembly of France from Bouches-du-Rhône from 1978 ...

from 1989 until 1995. Millon also held the mayorship of his native town of

Belley Belley (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Bèlê'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Ain Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region, France. It is the capital of the historical regi ...

from 1977 to 2001 and presidency of the

Regional Council of Rhône-Alpes The Rhône-Alpes Regional Council was the Conseil régional of the former Rhône-Alpes region of France until its abolition on 1 January 2016 to form the new Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It was chaired by Jean-Jack Queyranne (). It included 157 ...

from 1988 to 1999. As Defence Minister, Millon led the highly sensitive 1997 reform on the professionalisation of the

French Armed Forces The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...

, which had been decided the year prior by President

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 ...

in order to abolish 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 military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

. In 1998, to retain the presidency of the regional council, Millon agreed on being elected with votes from

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (20 June 1928 – 7 January 2025), commonly known as Jean-Marie Le Pen (), was a French politician, lawyer and activist. He founded the far-right National Front (now National Rally) party and served as the party's presi ...

's National Front (FN) and was subsequently expelled from the UDF. He then created his own party,

The Right Right-wing politics is the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that view certain social orders and Social stratification, hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position b ...

(LD), aiming at federating French liberals and conservatives, which met limited success. Millon ran in 2001 municipal election for

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 ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and served one term as a municipal councillor for the 3rd arrondissement. Having been defeated in his

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

parliamentary run in

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

, he was nominated in 2003 as France's

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

(FAO) in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he advocated for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n development. He retained the position until 2007.

Political career

; Governmental functions * Minister of Defence: 1995–1997 ; Electoral mandates ; National Assembly of France * President of the

Group in the National Assembly: 1989–1995 (became minister in 1995). Elected in 1989, reelected in 1993. * Vice-president of the National Assembly: 1986–1988. * 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

: 1978–1995 (became minister in 1995), 1997–2001 (resignation). Elected in 1978, reelected in 1981, 1986, 1988, 1993, and 1997. ; Regional Council * President of the Regional Council of Rhône-Alpes: 1988–1999 (resignation). Reelected in 1992 and 1998. * Regional councillor of Rhône-Alpes: 1978–2003 (resignation). Elected in 1986, reelected in 1992 and 1998. ; General Council * General councillor of

: 1985–1988 (resignation). ;

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, borough cou ...

: 1977–2001. Reelected in 1983, 1989, and 1995. * Municipal councillor of

: 2001–2008. ; Urban Community Council * Member of the

Urban Community of Lyon The Urban Community of Lyon (), also known as Grand Lyon (i.e. "Greater Lyon") or by its former acronym COURLY, is the former intercommunal structure gathering the city of Lyon (France) and some of its suburbs. It was created in January 1969.

: 2001–2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millon, Charles 1945 births Living people People from Belley Union for French Democracy politicians Republican Party (France) politicians Ministers of defence of France 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 Deputies of the 10th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 11th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Members of Parliament for Ain Regional councillors of France Mayors of places in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes University of Lyon alumni