Marie-Joseph Bissonnier (25 December 1940 – 27 June 2023) was a French dental surgeon and politician of the

Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...

(RPR) and the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...

(UMP). In the 2001 French cantonal elections, he became President of the General Council of Ille-et-Vilaine, succeeding

Pierre Méhaignerie Pierre Méhaignerie (born 4 May 1939) is a French politician. He is a former deputy of the Ille-et-Vilaine's 5th constituency and the former mayor of Vitré (re-elected in March 2008). Career He was elected in 1973 to the French parliamen ...

Biography

Born in

Cerdon, Loiret Cerdon () is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. See also *Communes of the Loiret department The following is the list of the 325 communes of the Loiret department of France. The communes cooperate in the followin ...

, Bissonnier was a dental surgeon by profession. He was elected to the General Council of Ille-et-Vilaine from the

Canton of Plélan-le-Grand The Canton of Plélan-le-Grand is a former canton of France, in the Ille-et-Vilaine ''département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territor ...

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. He was also

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

Plélan-le-Grand Plélan-le-Grand (; Gallo: ''Pilelan'', ) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Plélan-le-Grand are called ''Plélanais'' in French. See also *Communes of the Ille-et- ...

from 1977 to 1995. He ran in the on a list with , Georges Magnant, and Marie Daugan, but was unsuccessful against the preferred right-wing list of , , , and . Bissonnier was elected President of the General Council of Ille-et-Vilaine in 2001, serving until 1 April 2004. He was chosen by his predecessor, Pierre Méhaignerie. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, he was defeated in his re-election bid in the Canton of Plélan-le-Grand by Rozenn Geffroy of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

. He was succeeded as President of the Departmental Council by socialist Jean-Louis Tourenne. Marie-Joseph Bissonnier died on 27 June 2023, at the age of 82.

Distinctions

*Knight 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 ...

(2004) *Knight of the

Order of Agricultural Merit The Order of Agricultural Merit () is an order of merit bestowed by the France, French Republic for outstanding contributions to agriculture. When it was created in 1883, it was second in importance only to the Legion of Honour within the Frenc ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bissonnier, Marie-Joseph 1940 births 2023 deaths French dentists Union for a Popular Movement politicians Knights of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Order of Agricultural Merit People from Loiret