Charles Victor Pasqua (18 April 192729 June 2015) was a French businessman and Gaullist politician. He was

Interior Minister An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...

from 1986 to 1988, under Jacques Chirac's ''

cohabitation Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a Romance (love), romantic or Sexual intercourse, sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. ...

'' government, and also from 1993 to 1995, under the government of Edouard Balladur.

Early life and family background

Pasqua was born on 18 April 1927 in Grasse, Alpes-Maritimes. His paternal grandfather was a shepherd from Casevecchie,

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

and he could speak Corsican fluently. As of 1987, his cousin served as the mayor of Casevecchie. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Pasqua joined the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

at the age of sixteen. He subsequently received his Baccalauréat, followed by a degree in Law.

Business career

From 1952 to 1971 Pasqua worked for Ricard, a producer of alcoholic beverages (most notably pastis), starting as a salesman. In 1971, he founded Euralim, also known as Europe-Alimentation, an importer of Americano, a cocktail made by the Italian company Gancia.Quand les RG scrutaient Pasqua chez Ricard
''Le Nouvel Observateur'', 23 January 2002

Politics

In 1947, Pasqua helped create the section of the Gaullist Party RPF movement for the

Alpes-Maritimes Alpes-Maritimes (; ; ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France located in the country's southeast corner, on the France–Italy border, Italian border and Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast. Part of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'A ...

. With Jacques Foccart and Achille Peretti, he was the co-founder of the '' Service d'Action Civique'' (SAC) in 1959 to counter the terrorist actions of the OAS during the

Algerian War of Independence The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

(1954–1962). The SAC would be charged with the underground actions of the Gaullist movement and participated in the organization of the 30 May 1968 Gaullist counter- demonstration. From 1968 to 1973, Pasqua was deputy to the

French National Assembly 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 the Hauts-de-Seine ''département'' for the UDR party, of which he was a leading member from 1974 to 1976. He helped Jacques Chirac to take the lead of the party and participated in its transformation into the Rally for the Republic (RPR). Counsellor of Jacques Chirac alongside Marie-France Garaud, he was in charge of the organisation of Chirac's campaign for the 1981 presidential election, won by the candidate of the Socialist Party (PS), François Mitterrand (1981–1995). As such, he is considered to be Chirac's mentor in politics. From 1981 to 1986 Pasqua was

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for the Hauts-de-Seine, then president of the RPR group in the Senate. From 1986 to 1988 he was

(in charge of law enforcement). In 1992, he called a vote against the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty. He became Interior Minister again from 1993 to 1995, and supported the candidacy of Edouard Balladur at the 1995 presidential election. He is mostly remembered for having pushed a series of anti-immigration laws (lois Pasqua), and for his declaration "we will terrorize the terrorists." Pasqua headed the Rally for France (RPF), a sovereigntist ( Eurosceptic) party, for a while in association with Philippe de Villiers. At the 1999 European Parliament election, their list got ahead of the RPR list. He served as the President of the General Council of the Hauts-de-Seine from 1988 to 2004. In 2004, he was elected

by an electoral college. In 2005, a US Senate report accused him, along with the British

Respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or deferential action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also th ...

politician George Galloway, of profiting illegally from the UN's oil-for-food scheme. He and other French defendants were cleared of all charges in 2013 by a Paris court. In 2008, Pasqua was convicted of illegal lobbying in the Mitterrand–Pasqua affair during his time serving as French Interior Minister. Sentenced in 2009 to serve one year of a three-year jail term, he was acquitted on appeal in 2011.

Personal life and death

Pasqua was married to Jeanne Joly, from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. They had a son, , who died in February 2015. He died of a heart attack on 29 June 2015 at the Foch Hospital in

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...

, near Paris.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasqua, Charles 1927 births 2015 deaths People from Grasse French people of Corsican descent Politicians from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Rally of the French People politicians Union for the New Republic politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Rally for the Republic politicians French interior ministers Deputies of the 4th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic French senators of the Fifth Republic Senators of Hauts-de-Seine Presidents of the General Council of Hauts-de-Seine Rally for France MEPs MEPs for France 1999–2004 Mitterrand–Pasqua affair French politicians convicted of crimes French Resistance members Businesspeople from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur