David Kessler (24 February 1959 – 3 February 2020) was 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), ...

senior official. He served as Culture and Communication Adviser to the

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 ...

from 2012 to 2014, and also served on numerous boards of directors.

Biography

David was the son of Paul Kessler, former director of research at the

French National Centre for Scientific Research The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 engi ...

, and Colette Kessler, who co-founded the Liberal Jewish Movement of France. He was also the brother of Emmanuel Kessler, a journalist. Kessler began studying at the École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud in 1977. He earned his

Agrégation In France, the () is the most competitive and prestigious examination for civil service in the French public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all stu ...

in philosophy in 1980, and later a master's degree in philosophy with a concentration on

Baruch Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...

. He was admitted into the

École nationale d'administration The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...

(ENA), and upon graduating was assigned to the

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. Kessler gave lectures at

Sciences Po Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

from 1989 to 1991, and at the ENA from 1991 to 1998. From 1996 to 1997, Kessler served as the Director General of the

Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel The (, ), abbreviated CSA, was a French institution created in 1989 whose role was to regulate the various electronic media in France, such as radio and television. The creation of the (High Authority for Audiovisual Communication) was a measure ...

(CSA). He then served as director for culture and communication to

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Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and th ...

. He participated in the Young Leaders Program organized by the

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in 1999. After this, Kessler served as an executive for numerous French corporations. From 2001 to 2004, Kessler was the Director General of the

Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée The Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (; CNC; ) is an agency of the French Ministry of Culture, and is responsible for the production and promotion of cinematic and audiovisual arts in France. The CNC is a publicly owned establis ...

(CNC). From 2005 to 2008, he was Director of

France Culture France Culture () is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist ...

. He was President of the Conseil supérieur des musiques actuelles from 2006 to 2009. He was Deputy Director of

Radio France Radio France () is the French national public radio broadcaster. Stations Radio France offers seven national networks: *France Inter — Radio France's "generalist media, generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed wi ...

in charge of content strategy from 2008 to 2009. Kessler directed the magazine ''

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' (), abbreviated as ''Les Inrocks'', is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. As of 2021, it returned to a monthly format. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's prim ...

'', as well as the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

version of the ''

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'' from 2011 to 2012. He worked to help

RMC Story RMC Story, formerly known as Numéro 23 and initially as TVous La télédiversité, is a French independent TV television channel founded by Diversité TV France. It launched its broadcasts on 12 December 2012 and is the 23rd national television ...

, then called Numéro 23, rise to prominence with promotion of racial and sexual diversity. He supported the Isota Association, which promoted marriage and adoption for homosexual couples. Kessler was the adviser of radio and music to

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

from 2012 to 2014. He moved to the private sector after that, directing the cinema sector of

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. After the death of his wife, Sophie Mesguich, he was remarried to Cyril Pigot in 2013. Kessler died on 3 February 2020 at the age of 60.

Awards

*Knight of the

Ordre national du Mérite The (; ) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's establishment was twofold: to replace the large number of ...

*Knight of the

Ordre des Palmes académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

*Commander of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The Order of Arts and Letters () is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is the recognition of significant ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessler, David 1959 births 2020 deaths People from Boulogne-Billancourt Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite ENS Fontenay-Saint-Cloud-Lyon alumni École nationale d'administration alumni French people of Jewish descent