Martine Aubry
Encyclopedia
Martine Aubry is a French politician. She has been the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party (Parti Socialiste, or PS) since November 2008 and Mayor of Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

 (Nord) since March 2001. Her father, Jacques Delors
Jacques Delors
Jacques Lucien Jean Delors is a French economist and politician, the eighth President of the European Commission and the first person to serve three terms in that office .-French Politics:...

, served as Minister of Finance under President François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...

 and was also President of the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

.

Aubry joined the PS in 1974 and was appointed Minister of Labour by Prime Minister Édith Cresson
Édith Cresson
Édith Cresson is a French politician. She was the first and so far only woman to have held the office of Prime Minister of France.- French Prime Minister :Cresson was appointed to the prime ministerial post by President François Mitterrand on 15 May 1991...

 in 1991, but lost her position in 1993 after the Right won the legislative elections. However, she became Minister of Social Affairs when Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995...

 was appointed Prime Minister
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...

 in 1997. She is mostly known for having pushed the popular 35-hour workweek
35-hour workweek
The 35-hour working week is a measure adopted first in France, in February 2000, under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government; it was pushed by Minister of Labour Martine Aubry. The previous legal duration of the working week was 39 hours, which had been established by François...

 law, known as the "Loi Aubry", reducing the nominal length of the normal full-time working week from 39 to 35 hours, and the law that created the Couverture maladie universelle
Couverture maladie universelle
The Couverture maladie universelle is a French social welfare programme concerning public health. It was voted through by Lionel Jospin's gauche plurielle government , at the initiative of the minister Martine Aubry...

 (Universal health care coverage).

Aubry stepped down from her Cabinet post in 2001 to be elected Mayor of Lille in place of Pierre Mauroy
Pierre Mauroy
Pierre Mauroy is a French Socialist politician and former Prime Minister under François Mitterrand . Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. Mauroy is currently emeritus mayor of Lille.-Biography:...

. Aubry subsequently lost her seat in the National Assembly in the general election of 2002
French legislative election, 2002
-12th Assembly by Parliamentary Group:...

. In March 2008, she was reelected Mayor of Lille, with 66.55% of the votes.

In November 2008, she was elected to lead the Socialist Party, narrowly defeating Ségolène Royal
Ségolène Royal
Marie-Ségolène Royal , known as Ségolène Royal, is a French politician. She is the president of the Poitou-Charentes Regional Council, a former member of the National Assembly, a former government minister, and a prominent member of the French Socialist Party...

; while Royal disputed the results, the Socialist Party declared on November 25, 2008 that Aubry had won the contested election. On 28 June 2011, Martine Aubry announced she will seek the Socialist nomination
French Socialist Party presidential primary, 2011
The 2011 French Socialist Party presidential primary was the first open primary of the French Socialist Party and Radical Party of the Left for selecting their candidate for the 2012 presidential election. The filing deadline for primary nomination papers was fixed at 13 July 2011 and six...

 to run in the 2012 presidential election
French presidential election, 2012
The 2012 French presidential election is the next presidential election, to be held on 22 April and 6 May 2012, the latter being used for a run-off if necessary...

. She will represent an option more based on traditional Socialist policies and the welfare state than the other main candidates.

Biography

Aubry is the daughter of French Minister of Finance (1981–1985) and European Commission President (1985–1995) Jacques Delors
Jacques Delors
Jacques Lucien Jean Delors is a French economist and politician, the eighth President of the European Commission and the first person to serve three terms in that office .-French Politics:...

.

Education and professional career

Aubry was educated at the lycée Notre-Dame-des-Oiseaux and the lycée Paul-Valéry (in Paris); she holds a degree in economic science from the Pantheon-Assas Paris II University, a diploma from the Institut des Sciences Sociales du Travail, and one from the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
The Institut d'études politiques de Paris , simply referred to as Sciences Po , is a public research and higher education institution in Paris, France, specialised in the social sciences. It has the status of grand établissement, which allows its admissions process to be highly selective...

(or Sciences Po) in 1972.

Between 1973 and 1975, she studied at the École nationale d'administration
École nationale d'administration
The École Nationale d'Administration , one of the most prestigious of French graduate schools , was created in 1945 by Charles de Gaulle to democratise access to the senior civil service. It is now entrusted with the selection and initial training of senior French officials...

 (ÉNA, National School of Administration). She became a civil administrator at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (France) (Ministère du Travail et des Affaires sociales), during which time she was active within the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT). She became a professor at ÉNA in 1978, and was seconded to the State Council between 1980 and 1981.

Following the election of François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...

 to the French presidency in 1981, she successively held several posts at the Ministry of Social Affairs, in the cabinets of Jean Auroux
Jean Auroux
Jean Auroux is a French politician. He served as Minister of Labour from 1981 to 1983, under former President François Mitterand.-Biography:He started his career as a school teacher, and became the Mayor of Roanne. In 2002, he was sued for corruption in his capacity as Mayor, but he was let go in...

 and Pierre Bérégovoy
Pierre Bérégovoy
Pierre Eugène Bérégovoy was a French Socialist politician. He served as Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1992 to 1993.-Early career:...

. In 1984, she investigated French asbestos policy for the Comité Permanent Amiante (Permanent Asbestos Committee, an informal public-private working group formed to manage the health problems of workers affected by asbestos). The group's deputy director, Jean-Luc Pasquier, testified before the courts to account for the group's members' actions.

After the defeat of the socialists in the French legislative election of 1986
French legislative election, 1986
The French legislative elections took place on 16 March 1986 to elect the 8th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. Contrary to other legislative elections of the Fifth Republic, the electoral system used was that of Party-list proportional representation.Since the 1981 election of François...

, she was named Master of Requests at the State Council. From 1989 to 1991, she took up the post of Assistant Director at Pechiney
Pechiney
Pechiney SA was a major aluminium conglomerate based in France. The company was acquired in 2003 by the Alcan Corporation, headquartered in Canada...

, working with Jean Gandois
Jean Gandois
Jean Gandois is a French businessman.-Education:He is a former pupil of the French École polytechnique, where he graduated in 1949, as an engineer of bridges & road construction.-Career:...

. She was involved with the opening of a plant at Dunkerque and the closure of the aluminium works at Noguères
Noguères
Noguères is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.-References:*...

.

Minister of Labour, Employment and Vocational Training: 1991-1993

Aubry was named Minister of Labour, Employment and Vocational Training by Édith Cresson
Édith Cresson
Édith Cresson is a French politician. She was the first and so far only woman to have held the office of Prime Minister of France.- French Prime Minister :Cresson was appointed to the prime ministerial post by President François Mitterrand on 15 May 1991...

, and carried on in this capacity in the Bérégovoy ministry until March 1993. According to Jean-Luc Pasquier, she supported the controlled use of asbestos whilst all other members of the EEC supported an outright ban, thus effectively vetoing a European decree against asbestos. France did not ban asbestos until 1997. In January 2010, a public health judge charged with investigating former government measures on asbestos had Aubry interrogated by gendarmes in Lille.

When the right came into power at the French legislative election in 1986
French legislative election, 1986
The French legislative elections took place on 16 March 1986 to elect the 8th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic. Contrary to other legislative elections of the Fifth Republic, the electoral system used was that of Party-list proportional representation.Since the 1981 election of François...

, she started the Fondation Agir Contre l'Exclusion
Fondation Agir Contre l'Exclusion
Fondation Agir Contre l'Exclusion is a private foundation in France. The aim is to help young people from humble backgrounds to join the private sector.-Overview:It was founded by Martine Aubry in 1993...

(FACE, the Act Against Exclusion Foundation). In 1995, Pierre Mauroy
Pierre Mauroy
Pierre Mauroy is a French Socialist politician and former Prime Minister under François Mitterrand . Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. Mauroy is currently emeritus mayor of Lille.-Biography:...

 named her as the first deputy to the Mayor of Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

, thus giving her a foothold in the department of Nord.

Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin
Lionel Jospin is a French politician, who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002.Jospin was the Socialist Party candidate for President of France in the elections of 1995 and 2002. He was narrowly defeated in the final runoff election by Jacques Chirac in 1995...

, who became the socialist candidate as French President in 1995, made her his campaign spokesman during the presidential campaign
French presidential election, 1995
Presidential elections took place in France on 23 April and 7 May 1995, to elect the fifth president of the Fifth Republic.The incumbent Socialist president, François Mitterrand, did not stand for a third term. He was 78, had cancer, and his party had lost the previous legislative election in a...

. Upon his defeat, Jospin became first secretary of the Socialist Party, and offered her the number two spot, which Aubry refused.

Although she had good relations with part of the establishment, especially with her former Pechiney boss, Jean Gandois, and the Parti communiste francais
French Communist Party
The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...

, she did not get on well with the unions, in particular with Nicole Notat
Nicole Notat
Nicole Notat, born 26 July 1947 in Châtrices, Marne, is the former secretary general of the union CFDT. She is currently founder and president of Vigeo, a company committed to a concept of sustainable development....

, the former General Secretary of the CFDT

She has been described as hard and demanding. She counters, "Je dis les choses en face, je ne suis pas faux-cul. Mais je crois être bien moins dure que beaucoup de gens en politique. Je suis même peut-être trop sensible. (I'm up-front, and I'm not a hypocrite. But I think I'm much less hard than many politicians. I may even be too sensitive.)"

Minister of Employment and Solidarity: 1997-2000

Elected as member of the National Assembly, she became minister of Employment and Solidarity and most important minister after the prime minister in 1997. The same year, to fight unemployment, she created a new employment contract for young people (Emplois-jeunes) with a financial help from the government. In 1998, a fist law establishing the 35-hour workweek was adopted. in 1999, the Couverture maladie universelle (CMU), a program that reimburses medical expenses through Social security
Social Security in France
Social Security in France is divided into four branches:*illness;*old age;*family;*recovery.From an institutional point of view, French social security is made up of diverse organismes collectively referred to as La Sécu, an abbreviation of Sécurité Sociale.- History of social protection:From the...

 for everyone, was voted through. Furthermore, for people on low incomes, the CMU also offers complementary health cover of 100%, which is added to standard Social Security payments; this avoids the necessity for additional private (top-up) insurance.

2012 Presidential candidacy

On June 28, 2011, Aubry said in a televised address from the former train station of Lille-Saint-Sauveur
Gare of Lille-Saint-Sauveur
Lille-Saint-Sauveur is a former goods station of Lille with some of the buildings has been converted into recreational areas and exhibition on the occasion of the events of Lille 3000 in 2009.-History:...

 : "I have decided to propose my candidacy to the presidential election".

Political career

  • Governmental functions
    • Minister of Labor, Employment and Training : 1991-1993.
    • Minister of Employment and Solidarity : 1997-2000 (Resignation).
  • Electoral mandates
    • National Assembly of France
      • Member of the National Assembly of France for Nord : Elected in 1997, but became minister in June / 2000-2002.
    • Municipal Council
      • Mayor of Lille
        Lille
        Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

         : Since 2001. Reelected in 2008.
      • Deputy-mayor of Lille
        Lille
        Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

         : 1995-2001.
      • Municipal councillor of Lille
        Lille
        Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

         : Since 1995. Reelected in 2001, 2008.
    • Urban community Council
      • President of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole
        Urban Community of Lille Métropole
        The Urban Community of Lille Métropole is the intercommunal structure gathering the commune of Lille and that part of the Lille metropolitan area that lies in France....

         : 2008 - June 2011 (Resignation).
      • Vice-president of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole
        Urban Community of Lille Métropole
        The Urban Community of Lille Métropole is the intercommunal structure gathering the commune of Lille and that part of the Lille metropolitan area that lies in France....

         : 1995-2008. Reelected in 2001.
      • Member of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole
        Urban Community of Lille Métropole
        The Urban Community of Lille Métropole is the intercommunal structure gathering the commune of Lille and that part of the Lille metropolitan area that lies in France....

         : Since 1995. Reelected in 2001, 2008.
  • Political function
      • First Secretary (leader) of the Socialist Party (France)
        Socialist Party (France)
        The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...

         : 2008 - June 2011 (Resignation).

External links


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