Roger Karoutchi (born 26 August 1951) is a French teacher and politician who has been serving as the first Vice President of the Senate since 2020. He previously served as the French Ambassador to the

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate ...

'Karoutchi ambassadeur auprès de l'OCDE,' 29 June 2009,

Europe 1 Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. Owned and operated by Lagardère Active, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it is one of the leading radio broadcasting stations in France and its p ...

/ref> and as Secretary of State to the

French Prime Minister The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister ...

, with responsibility for Relations with

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...

Early life

Karoutchi was born in Casablanca into a

Moroccan Jewish Moroccan Jews ( ar, اليهود المغاربة, al-Yahūd al-Maghāriba he, יהודים מרוקאים, Yehudim Maroka'im) are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews b ...

family. His ancestors were Livornese Jews (Grana) from Italy who had settled in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

in the

18th century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave tradin ...

. He received a master's degree from the Sciences Po Aix.

Career

Karoutchi became a history teacher, first in Goussainville, and then in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

, teaching from 1975 to 1985. He continued his political activity, which he had started at the age of 16, during that period, being a national delegate of the Rassemblement pour la République (RPR) from 1981 to 1986. At that time, Karoutchi joined the office of

Philippe Séguin Philippe Séguin (21 April 1943 – 7 January 2010) was a French political figure who was President of the National Assembly from 1993 to 1997 and President of the Cour des Comptes of France from 2004 to 2010. He entered the Court of Financia ...

, the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment, eventually becoming Séguin's chief of staff when he became president of 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 rep ...

. Karoutchi was a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...

from 1997 to 1999 and Senator from

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a département in the Île-de-France region, Northern 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 we ...

from 1999 to 2007. Karoutchi was very active in the 2007 presidential campaign 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. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Sei ...

, with whom he has a close personal relationship. From 2009 to 2011, Karoutchi served as the French Ambassador to the

. As part of a reorganization of the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Soci ...

(later

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

) leadership under their chairman Jean-François Copé in January 2013, Karoutchi became – alongside

Henri de Raincourt Henri de Raincourt (born 17 November 1948) is a French politician who was Minister for Relations with Parliament (2009-2010) and Minister in charge of Co-operation (2010-2012) during Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidency. Previously a Senator represen ...

Jean-Claude Gaudin Jean-Claude Gaudin (; born 8 October 1939) is a French politician for The Republicans. He served as the Mayor of Marseille from 1995 to 2020. He was a member of the National Assembly of France from Bouches-du-Rhône from 1978 to 1989 and has ...

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 ...

, Christian Estrosi and Gérard Longuet – one of the party’s six vice-presidents.

Political positions

In the 2012 leadership election of the

(UMP), Karoutchi endorsed Jean-François Copé. In the Republicans' 2016 presidential primaries, Karoutchi endorsed Sarkozy as the party's candidate for the office of

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...

. Ahead of the 2022 presidential elections, he publicly declared his support for Valérie Pécresse as the Republicans’ candidate.

Political career

Governmental function Secretary of State for Relations with Parliament : 2007–2009. Electoral mandates ''European Parliament'' Member of

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adop ...

: 1997-1999 (Became senator of

in 1999). ''Senate of France'' Senator of

: 1999-2007 (Became secretary of State in 2007). Reelected in 2004. ''Regional Council'' Vice-president of the Regional Council of Ile-de-France : 1994–1998. Regional councillor of Ile-de-France : Since 1992. Reelected in 1998, 2004. ''Municipal Council'' Deputy-mayor of Villeneuve-la-Garenne : Since 2008. Municipal councillor of Villeneuve-la-Garenne : Since 2008. Municipal councillor of

Nanterre Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering ...

: 1989–1995. Municipal councillor of

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious commune in the Parisian area, located from its centre. It is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department an ...

: 1995–2001.

Personal life

In January 2009, Karoutchi publicly announced that he is gay. As such, he was the first French Minister to come out while in office.Paul Parant, 'Primaires UMP : Karoutchi perd la région Ile-de-France', Têtu, 22 March 200

/ref>

References

Biography

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karoutchi, Roger 1951 births Living people People from Casablanca 20th-century Moroccan Jews Moroccan emigrants to France Jewish French politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Rally for the Republic politicians Union for a Popular Movement politicians The Republicans (France) politicians Government ministers of France Gaullism, a way forward for France French Senators of the Fifth Republic MEPs for France 1994–1999 MEPs for France 1999–2004 LGBT Jews LGBT conservatism Gay politicians LGBT people from Morocco OECD officials Sciences Po Aix alumni LGBT MEPs for France Senators of Hauts-de-Seine