Claude Malhuret (born 8 March 1950) is a French

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and politician of

Agir Agir or AGIR may refer to: * Agir (singer), Portuguese singer * AGIR (student organization), Galician independence group * Agir (Belgium), Belgian political party * Agir (France), French political party * Agir ensemble, French parliamentary group * ...

who has been a member of the

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

since 2014, representing the department of Allier. Previously, Malhuret was the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a 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 responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of V ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

(1989–2017), a member 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 rep ...

(1993–1997) and of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the 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 adop ...

(1989–1993).

Early life and career

Malhuret was born in Strasbourg. After completing his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' ...

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, and Health promotion ...

at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (french: link=no, Université de Paris), Metonymy, metonymically known as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, active from 1150 to 1970, with the exception between 1793 and 1806 under the French Revo ...

, he worked as a hospital intern. In 1973, Malhuret participated in some voluntary overseas work with Coopération Française, before being employed by the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

in India. Malhuret was elected president of

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF; pronounced ), also known as Doctors Without Borders, is a humanitarian medical non-governmental organisation (NGO) or charity of French origin known for its projects in conflict zones and in countries affected by endemic diseases. ...

in 1977. Malhuret's humanitarian aid was beginning to be noticed, and in 1978 he became the President of

's overseas relief agency. In 1980, Malhuret was one of the organizers of the "March for the Survival of Cambodia" in Thailand, with several media and artistic personalities, and read a speech written by

Bernard-Henri Lévy Bernard-Henri Lévy (; ; born 5 November 1948) is a French public intellectual. Often referred to in France simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the "Nouveaux Philosophes" (New Philosophers) movement in 1976. His opinions, political activ ...

Political career

Career in government

From 1986 to 1988, Malhuret served as Secretary of State for Human Rights 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 is ...

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

, the first in this position.

Member of the European Parliament, 1989–1993

From 1989 to 1993, Malhuret was a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...

. In parliament, he served on the Committee on Political Affairs (1989–1990) and the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media (1992–1993). In addition to his committee assignments, he was part of the parliament’s delegation for relations with Japan.

Mayor of Vichy, 1989–2017

Malhuret was elected mayor of Vichy and President of the Vichy Urban District in 1989. He initiated a massive programme to modernize and restore the glory of the town, alongside other economic partners. This included the construction of a vast pedestrian area, upgrading of various hotels and renovation of the spas and Opera House. Malhuret stepped down to Vice-President of the Vichy Urban District in 2001, but remained the mayor of Vichy.

Member of the Senate, 2014–present

Malhuret first became a member of the French Senate in the 2014 elections. Following the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017 French presidential election, 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, M ...

as president, Malhuret left the Republicans and became one of the founding members of the new Agir party.

Other activities

* Korian, Member of the Board of Directors (2003–2014)

Political positions

In 2016, Malhuret publicly 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 ...

in the Republicans’ primaries for the 2017 presidential elections.Claude Malhuret quitte Les Républicains
''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French Newspaper of recor ...

'', 30 November 2017.

References

1950 births Living people Physicians from Strasbourg Politicians from Strasbourg Union for French Democracy politicians Union for a Popular Movement politicians The Republicans (France) politicians Agir (France) politicians Deputies of the 10th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic French Senators of the Fifth Republic Senators of Allier French humanitarians Médecins Sans Frontières 20th-century French physicians Paris Descartes University alumni {{France-mayor-stub