Patrick Devedjian (26 August 1944 – 28 March 2020) was a French politician of 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) party. A close adviser of

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

since the 1990s, he was Minister under the Prime Minister in charge of the Implementation of the Recovery Plan, a special ministerial post created for two years after the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, a tenure which commenced in December 2008. He was of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

descent. In the night of 28 to 29 March 2020, he died of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

during the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Youth

Devedjian was born in

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...

. He was the grandson of the Armenian

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

and Ottoman bureaucrat

Karekin Deveciyan Karekin Deveciyan (; 1868 in Harput – 1964 in Istanbul) was a Turkish-Armenian zoologist who wrote ''Balık ve Balıkçılık'' (), one of the first scientific studies on fish and fisheries in Turkey. He served in the Ottoman bureaucracy and ...

. His father was born in

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and arrived in France after the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Devedjian received his early education in an Armenian school in

Sèvres Sèvres (, ) is a French Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region. The commune, which had a populatio ...

. He continued his education at the Panthéon-Assas University. He joined the far-right group

Occident The Occident is a term for the West, traditionally comprising anything that belongs to the Western world. It is the antonym of the term ''Orient'', referring to the Eastern world. In English, it has largely fallen into disuse. The term occidental ...

in 1963, at the age of 17. In a 2014 interview, he stated he regretted his past membership in the organization, and that he had "never condoned any crime". He was admitted to the

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 ...

Bar in 1970. He became a militant in the

Gaullist Gaullism ( ) is a French political stance based on the thought and action of World War II French Resistance leader Charles de Gaulle, who would become the founding President of the Fifth French Republic. De Gaulle withdrew French forces from t ...

movement in 1971 and took part in the foundation 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) party in 1976.

Career

Mayor of Antony and Deputy

In 1983, Devedjian was elected Mayor of Antony, a position he would hold until 2002 with re-elections in 1989, 1995 and 2001. In 1986, he also became a Deputy in 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 repr ...

from the

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west and ...

department and was re-elected six times in 1988, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2012. He was a member of the Assembly Committee on Finance and was

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

of the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries, whose overall purpose was to promote international trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers such as tariffs or quotas. According to its p ...

Committee. In 1992, he was one of the few members of the RPR who voted to support the

Maastricht Treaty The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union (EU). Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Communities, ...

. During the 1995 presidential campaign, he supported

Édouard Balladur Édouard Balladur (; born 2 May 1929) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France under François Mitterrand from 29 March 1993 to 17 May 1995. He unsuccessfully ran for president in the 1995 French presidential election, co ...

together with

, and suffered unpopularity with the RPR after Balladur's defeat against

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

. He became a close adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy and came back into favour during the presidential campaign of 2002.

Second Chirac presidency

After

’s reelection in 2002,

, who became

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

and ''de facto'' Number 2 of

Jean-Pierre Raffarin Jean-Pierre Raffarin (; born 3 August 1948) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005 under President Jacques Chirac. He resigned after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Un ...

's government, chose Patrick Devedjian to be his Deputy Minister for Local Liberties, in charge of

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

. As President Chirac had requested that ministers did not carry local executive powers, Devedjian resigned as Mayor of Antony and was succeeded by Raymond Sibille. He was also replaced in Parliament by his substitute Georges Siffredi. When Nicolas Sarkozy became Minister of the Economy and Finance in 2004, Patrick Devedjian followed him as Deputy Minister for Industry. In June 2005, new Prime Minister

Dominique de Villepin Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007 under President Jacques Chirac. In his career working at the Ministry ...

did not include Patrick Devedjian in his government. As a result, Georges Siffredi resigned from Parliament in October in order for Devedjian to be reelected in the

13th constituency. Devedjian proposed an amendment to a proposed bill penalizing

denial of the Armenian Genocide Denial of the Armenian genocide is the negationist claim that the Ottoman Empire and its ruling party, the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), did not commit genocide against its Armenian citizens during World War I—a crime documen ...

on 9 October 2006 that read, "These regulations do not apply to academic and scientific researches and studies." Devedjian added a statement to the amendment that according to media would "prevent any provocations and political demonstrations organized by a foreign country." When Nicolas Sarkozy resigned from Government and became President of the

party, Patrick Devedjian became his political advisor. Patrick Devedjian 2007 06 06 n1

2007 elections

After the

2007 presidential election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto list of sovereign states, sovereign states and their list of dependent territories, dependent territories. Referendums are included ...

and

’s election as

President of the Republic The President of the Republic is a title used for heads of state and/or heads of government in countries having republican form of government. Designation In most cases the president of a republic is elected, either: * by direct universal s ...

, tensions appeared between Sarkozy and Devedjian, who had wished and been predicted to become

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. Instead, Sarkozy chose

Rachida Dati Rachida Dati (, ; born 27 November 1965) is a French politician and former magistrate who has been Minister of Culture (France), Minister of Culture since January 2024 in the Attal government, government of Gabriel Attal, the Barnier government, ...

, the first woman of Northern African ancestry to hold a Ministry in France. Devedjian was not included in

François Fillon François Charles Amand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a French retired politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of The Republicans (previously known as the Union ...

’s government. On that occasion, Devedjian bitterly remarked: "I am in favour of a government open to a wide range of people—even to Sarkozists." The joke earned him the 2007 Prize for Political Humour. Instead, Devedjian took the presidency of the

General Council on 1 June, becoming head of the richest ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' in France. He was also named Deputy Secretary-General of the

(UMP), replacing

Brice Hortefeux Brice Hortefeux (; born 11 May 1958) is a conservative French politician. He was Minister of the Interior, Overseas Territories and Territorial collectivities. He was previously Minister for Labour, Labour Relations, the Family, Solidarity and ...

, then Secretary-General on 25 September, sharing the party leadership with First Vice President

Return to government

From 8 December 2008 to 13 November 2010, Devedjian was appointed Minister under the Prime Minister in charge of the Implementation of the Recovery Plan, a special ministerial post created for two years after the

and the announcement of a recovery package by President Sarkozy on 4 December. He left the UMP leadership to

Xavier Bertrand Xavier René Louis Bertrand (; born 21 March 1965) is a French politician; he is president of the regional council of Hauts-de-France since the 2015 regional elections. Earlier in his career, Bertrand was Minister of Health from 2005 to 2007 ...

on 8 December.

Political career

Governmental functions Minister of Economic Recovery Plan : 2008–2010. Minister of Industry : 2004-2005 Minister of Local Liberties : 2002-2004 Electoral mandates ''National Assembly of France'' Member of the

National Assembly of France The National Assembly (, ) is the lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral French Parliament under the French Fifth Republic, Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (France), Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known ...

for

(13th constituency) : 1986-2002 (Became minister in 2002) / 2005-2008 (Became minister in 2008) / And since 2010. Elected in 1986, reelected in 1988, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2005 (by-election), 2007 and 2012. ''General Council''

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the Hauts-de-Seine General Council : Since 2007 (Replacement after the resignation of

, who became president of the French Republic)

Vice-president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of Hauts-de-Seine General Council : 2004–2007. Hauts-de-Seine general councillor : Since 2004. ''Municipal Council'' Mayor of

Antony, Hauts-de-Seine Antony () is a Communes of France, commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Antony is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and the seat of the arrondissement o ...

: 1983-2002 (Resignation). Elected in 1983, reelected in 1989, 1995, 2001. Deputy-mayor of

: 2002-2005 (Resignation). Municipal councillor of

: 1983–2005. (Resignation) ''Agglomeration community Council'' President of the Agglomeration community of Hauts de Bièvre : 2002-2005 (Resignation). Member of the Agglomeration community of Hauts de Bièvre : 2002–2008. Political functions General Secretary of the

: 2007–2008. Spokesman of the

: 1999–2001.

Controversies

After the 2007 legislative elections,

Télé Lyon Métropole Télé Lyon Métropole was a private local TV channel in the greater Lyon area. History Télé Lyon Métropole (TLM) was launched on 25 November 1988 by Roger Caille, director of Jet Services, in the Tour du Crédit Lyonnais. Programming too ...

(TLM) filmed a conversation during which a UMP Deputy of

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

introduced new MP Michel Havard to Patrick Devedjian, saying that Havard had beaten

Democratic Movement Democratic Movement may refer to: *Brazilian Democratic Movement *Democratic Movement (France) *Democratic Movement (Israel) *Democratic Movement (Italy) *Democratic Italian Movement *Democratic Movement (San Marino) *Democratic Movement of Kyrgyzst ...

candidate Anne-Marie Comparini. Devedjian congratulated Havard and then added "''… cette salope !''" ("… that bitch!") about Comparini. That evening, Devedjian apologized in private, then issued a press release deploring the broadcast of "stolen images of a private conversation". He said he regretted his "inappropriate ''exclamation'' about Mrs. Anne-Marie Comparini" and said, "he sent her his regards and esteem". He apologized again in public at a press conference the next day, but it was too late to forestall a storm of criticism. The president of TLM said that Devedjian had asked for the interview not to be broadcast "but Mr. Devedjian knew he was being filmed".Insult humbles French politician
BBC News

References

External links

Patrick Devedjian's official website (in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devedjian, Patrick 1944 births 2020 deaths Presidents of the General Council of Hauts-de-Seine Mayors of places in Île-de-France Deputies of the 13th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Deputies of the 14th National Assembly of the French Fifth Republic Rally for the Republic politicians Union for a Popular Movement politicians The Republicans (France) politicians Government ministers of France Lycée Condorcet alumni People from Fontainebleau French people of Armenian descent Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni Ethnic Armenian politicians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in France