Jean-Michel Blanquer (; born 4 December 1964) is a French jurist and government official serving as Minister of National Education under Prime Ministers

Édouard Philippe Édouard Charles Philippe (; born 28 November 1970) is a French politician serving as Mayor (France), mayor of Le Havre since 2020, previously holding the office from 2010 to 2017. He was Prime Minister of France from 15 May 2017 to 3 July 202 ...

and

Jean Castex Jean Castex (; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 3 July 2020 to 16 May 2022. He was a member of The Republicans (LR) until 2020. Castex served for twelve years as mayor of the small town of ...

from 2017 to 2022.

Education and early career

Born in the

8th arrondissement of Paris The 8th arrondissement of Paris (''VIIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 Arrondissements of Paris, arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, the arrondissement is colloquially referred to as ''le huitième'' (). The ar ...

, he obtained a doctorate in law from Panthéon-Assas University and a master's degree in politics from

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 1996 to 1998, he was a professor in civil law at Sciences Po Lille. From 1998 to 2004, he was director of the Institute of Latin American Studies at the New Sorbonne University. From 2009 to 2012, Blanquer served as the director general of secondary and junior school education under then Minister of National Education Luc Chatel. In 2013, he became president of

ESSEC Business School Founded in 1907, ESSEC Business School (École Supérieure des Sciences Economiques et Commerciales) is a French higher education institution specialising in business and management. It is a grande école, a type of institution known for select ...

Minister of National Education

On 15 May 2017, Blanquer was appointed by President

Emmanuel Macron Emmanuel Jean-Michel Frédéric Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France and Co-Prince of Andorra since 2017. He was Ministry of Economy and Finance (France), Minister of Economics, Industr ...

to be Minister of National Education in the first Philippe government. He retained the position on 17 June 2017 when the second Philippe government was formed, following the legislative election of 2017. Soon after assuming the office, Blanquer announced plans to get rid of homework, preferring instead that time be set aside during the school day to do homework in school. He also overhauled the French baccalaureate and introduced free breakfasts for school children in poor neighborhoods.Factbox: Who are the key ministers in Macron's new government

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

, 6 July 2020. In June 2017, the ministry published a readjustment of elementary school programs in French and mathematics. In December 2017, Blanquer announced that France's education system would ban mobile devices during lunch or recess. The announcement was met with mixed responses. In early 2021, Blanquer removed himself from the race to lead the LREM campaign in

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

during that year's regional elections and to potentially succeed

Valérie Pécresse Valérie Anne Émilie Pécresse (; Birth name, née Roux ; 14 July 1967) is a French politician who has been the President of the Regional Council (France), President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France since 2015. A member of The Republic ...

as president of the

Regional Council of Île-de-France The Regional Council of Île-de-France () is the regional council of Île-de-France, France's most populous administrative region. Made up of 209 regional councillors elected for 6 years, it is headquartered in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, just north ...

. In addition to his government role, Blanquer has been heading the Le Laboratoire de la République since 2021; the organization is a

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

tasked with countering '' wokeism''. He joined the law faculty of Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University in 2022 as professor of civil law.

2022 legislative election

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 ...

, he stood in Loiret's 4th constituency but came third, and was eliminated in the first round.

Personal life

Blanquer has been divorced twice.

Bibliography

* "Requiem pour Jean-Michel Blanquer", in

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanquer, Jean-Michel 1964 births Living people Renaissance (French political party) politicians Politicians from Paris Collège Stanislas de Paris alumni Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University alumni Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni Sciences Po alumni Knights of the Legion of Honour 20th-century French politicians 21st-century French politicians Ministers of national education of France French academic administrators