François de Rugy
François Henri Goullet de Rugy (born 6 December 1973) is a French politician who served as President of the National Assembly (i.e., speaker) from 2017 to 2018, and Ecology Minister from 2018 to 2019.
François de Rugy | |
---|---|
Minister of State, Minister of Ecological and Solidary Transition | |
In office 4 September 2018[1] – 16 July 2019[2] | |
President | Emmanuel Macron |
Prime Minister | Édouard Philippe |
Preceded by | Nicolas Hulot |
Succeeded by | Élisabeth Borne |
President of the National Assembly | |
In office 27 June 2017[3] – 4 September 2018 | |
Preceded by | Claude Bartolone |
Succeeded by | Richard Ferrand |
Member of the National Assembly for Loire-Atlantique's 1st constituency | |
In office 20 June 2007[3] – 5 October 2018 | |
Preceded by | Jean-Pierre Le Ridant |
Succeeded by | Mounir Belhamiti |
Personal details | |
Born | Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, France | 6 December 1973
Nationality | French |
Political party | PÉ (2015–present) LREM (2017–present) |
Other political affiliations | EELV (2010–2015) The Greens (1997–2010) GE (1991–1994) |
Spouse(s) | Séverine Servat ( m. 2017) |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | Paris Institute of Political Studies |
Since 2007 he has represented the Loire-Atlantique department, originally as a member of the Democratic and Republican Left, a parliamentary group that includes his former political party Europe Ecology – The Greens.[4][5] In 2015 he joined the Ecologist Party and later La République En Marche parliamentary group.
He resigned as a minister in July 2019 after allegations of excessive spending of public funds for private use.
Biography
Rugy was born in Nantes, France. First elected at the 2007 French legislative election, he was re-elected in 2012, he was elected Co-President of the ecologist parliamentary group, in association with Barbara Pompili. In 2015, he broke with EELV to form his own party, the Ecologist Party, which supported the administration of François Hollande. In 2016, he entered the Socialist Party presidential primary[6] in which he secured 3.82% of votes in the first round, outstripping polls. Though he promised to support the winner of the primary, he reneged on that commitment in late February, instead backing Emmanuel Macron over primary winner Benoît Hamon,[7] and was subsequently invested by En Marche! in the legislative election.[8]
On 27 June 2017, Rugy was elected President of the National Assembly after being chosen as candidate by the La République En Marche parliamentary group with 353 votes (out of 577 members).[9]
On 4 September 2018, François de Rugy was appointed Minister of Ecological and Solidary Transition in the second Philippe government. He replaced Nicolas Hulot who had announced his resignation on 28 August 2018 on France Inter.[10]
In July 2019, online French magazine Mediapart revealed that €63,000 of public money had been spent on refurbishment of his Paris apartment (including €19,000 on a dressing room), and published photographs of lobster and champagne dinners.[11][12] On 16 July 2019, Rugy resigned as Ecology Minister.[13]
References
- Governement of the French Republic. "Décret du 4 septembre 2018 relatif à la composition du Gouvernement". legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- Governement of the French Republic. "Décret du 16 juillet 2019 relatif à la composition du Gouvernement". legifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- National Assembly of the French Republic. "M. François de Rugy". assemblee-nationale.fr. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
- "Liste définitive des députés élus à l'issue des deux tours" (in French). National Assembly of France. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- "À l'Assemblée nationale" (in French). Europe Écologie Les Verts. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
- "In pictures: The candidates in France's left-wing presidential primary". France 24. 14 December 2016.
- "Présidentielle : l'ex-candidat à la primaire de la gauche François de Rugy annonce sur franceinfo qu'il soutient Emmanuel Macron". franceinfo. 22 February 2017. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- "Communiqué de presse – Liste des investis aux élections législatives". En Marche!. 11 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- "François de Rugy élu président de l'Assemblée nationale". 27 June 2017 – via Le Monde.
- "Remaniement : François de Rugy et Roxana Maracineanu entrent au gouvernement". cnews.fr.
- "Chastised French minister: I hate caviar and suffer a lobster..." Reuters. 12 July 2019.
- "Lobster and champagne: French minister in hot water for living the lavish life on public funds". France 24. 11 July 2019.
- "Top French minister resigns after reports of lavish lifestyle". Los Angeles Times. 17 July 2019.