Jean Maheu (24 January 1931 – 9 January 2022) was a French government official.

Life and career

Maheu was the son of Director-General of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

René Maheu and Inès Allafort du Verger. He studied at the Lycée Claude Bernard in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and at the Lycée Pasteur in

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...

. He then took classes 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 ...

and 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 ...

. On 27 July 1956, he married Isabelle Viennot with whom he had six children: Emmanuel, Anne, Sophie, Pascale, Jean-Philippe and Delphine. In 1958, Maheu began working for the

Court of Audit A Court of Audit or Court of Accounts is a supreme audit institution, i.e. a government institution performing financial and/or legal audit (i.e. statutory audit or external audit) on the executive branch of power. See also *Most of those ...

and joined the the following year. From 1962 to 1967, he served as under

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French general and statesman who led the Free France, Free French Forces against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government of the French Re ...

. He then served as a secretary to the Minister of Sports from 1967 to 1974. He was active in the world of music, working for the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

as a lyricist and directing the

Orchestre de Paris The Orchestre de Paris () is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris. History In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du ...

from 1974 to 1979. He was also vice-president of the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

. In 1983, he was named President of the

Centre Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

, succeeding . In 1989, he was named Président-directeur général 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 ...

, a position he held until 1995. As part of this mandate, he became a member of the Conseil supérieur de la langue française, a member of the board of directors of

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (; AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. With 2,400 employees of 100 nationalities, AFP has an editorial presence in 260 c ...

and a member of

Public Francophone Radios The Public Francophone Radios (French: ''Radios francophones publiques'') is a group of French-speaking radio broadcasters comprising Radio France, Radio Canada, the Radio Télévision Suisse and RTBF. It produces programmes such as ''L'actualit� ...

. Maheu was President of the Maison de la poésie de la Ville de Paris from 1995 to 1998. He then became President of the Board of Directors of the

Théâtre de la Ville (; "City Theatre") is one of the two theatres built in the 19th century by Baron Haussmann at Place du Châtelet, Paris, the other being the Théâtre du Châtelet. It is located at 2, place du Châtelet in the 4th arrondissement. Included a ...

in 1996, President of the

Centre national de la photographie The Centre national de la photographie is a French association managed by the Ministry of Culture, dedicated to photography and contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced f ...

in 1996, and President of the Association des Centres culturels de rencontres in 1997. He was an associate professor at Sciences Po from 1959 to 1970, an associated professor at

Paris-Sorbonne University Paris-Sorbonne University (also known as Paris IV; ) was a public university, public research university in Paris, France, active from 1971 to 2017. It was the main inheritor of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Paris. In 2018, it m ...

from 1994 to 1997, and later an associate professor at the

University of Évry Val d'Essonne A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. Maheu died on 9 January 2022, at the age of 90.

Publications

*''Les Nus et les Trembles'' (1984) *''Un été de sel'' (1989) *''Le Ravissement de l'île'' (1992) *''L'ébloui'' (2004) *''Naissance du vertige'' (2009)

Decorations

*Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

*Grand Officer 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 ...

*Officer 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 ...

*Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maheu, Jean 1931 births 2022 deaths Civil servants from Paris French chief executives French civil servants Lycée Pasteur (Neuilly-sur-Seine) alumni Sciences Po alumni École nationale d'administration alumni Officers of the Legion of Honour Grand Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Officiers of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun