Jean Castex

Jean Castex (French: [ʒɑ̃ kastɛks]; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician serving as Prime Minister of France since 3 July 2020.[1]

Jean Castex
Castex in 2020
Prime Minister of France
Assumed office
3 July 2020
PresidentEmmanuel Macron
Preceded byÉdouard Philippe
President of the Community of communes Conflent Canigó
In office
7 January 2015 – 3 July 2020
Preceded byOffice created
Succeeded byJean-Louis Jallat
Deputy Secretary General of the Presidency
In office
28 February 2011 – 15 May 2012
PresidentNicolas Sarkozy
Preceded byXavier Musca
Succeeded byEmmanuel Macron
Nicolas Revel
Mayor of Prades
In office
18 March 2008 – 3 July 2020
Preceded byJean-François Denis
Succeeded byYves Delcor (interim)
Personal details
Born (1965-06-25) 25 June 1965
Vic-Fezensac, France
Nationality France
Political partyUnion for a Popular Movement (until 2015)
The Republicans (2015–2020)
LREM (since 2020)
Alma materUniversity of Toulouse 2
Sciences Po
École nationale d'administration
Signature

A former member of The Republicans (LR), Castex served as Mayor of Prades, a provincial town in Southern France, for twelve years until his appointment as Prime Minister by President Emmanuel Macron. Castex earned plaudits for his handling of the Coronavirus crisis.[2]

Early life and education

Born at Vic-Fezensac in southwestern France and brought up in the Catholic tradition, his grandfather was Senator Marc Castex and another family member was the distinguished academic, Professor Pierre-Georges Castex.[3]

Castex attended Sciences-Po (Paris Institute of Political Studies) graduating in 1986, before pursuing further studies at the École nationale d'administration (ENA's "Victor Hugo" Class of 1991), before joining the Court of Audit becoming one of France's senior civil servants.

Political career

Elected in 2008 as Mayor of Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales,[4] from 2010 until 2011, Castex served under Health Minister Xavier Bertrand as Chief of Staff in François Fillon's ministry.[5] Succeeding Raymond Soubie as Secretary-General under President Nicolas Sarkozy between 2011 and 2012; he was replaced by Emmanuel Macron. In the UMP 2012 leadership primaries, he endorsed Fillon.[6]

On the local level, Castex was a regional councillor of Languedoc-Roussillon from 2010 to 2015, and has served as department councillor of Pyrénées-Orientales since 2015.

In September 2017, Castex was appointed interdepartmental delegate to the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics; he was also appointed as President of the National Sports Agency.[7] On 2 April 2020, he was appointed coordinator of the phasing out of the lockdown (confinement) implemented in France during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Castex was a member of The Republicans until early 2020, where he was regarded as being socially conservative.[8][9] Following Édouard Philippe's resignation on 3 July 2020, Castex was appointed Prime Minister by President Emmanuel Macron.[2]

Personal life

Castex, who has a southwestern French accent, is married to Sandra Ribelaygue;[10] they have four daughters.[11]

A fluent Catalan speaker, Castex is regarded a defender of the Catalan identity in Southern France and other regional sensibilities.[12] He is also friends with the ex-trades union leader Jean-Claude Mailly and the physician Patrick Pelloux, a former columnist at Charlie Hebdo.[10]

Honours
Ribbon barHonourDate and comment
Chevalier of the Legion of Honour 2020
Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit 2020 – ex officio;
2006 - Chevalier
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See also
  • Castex Government

References
  1. Mallet, Victor. "Macron names Jean Castex as new French prime minister". www.ft.com. Financial Times.
  2. "French president names Jean Castex, who coordinated France's virus reopening strategy, as new prime minister". Associated Press. 3 July 2020.
  3. www.academiesciencesmoralesetpolitiques.fr
  4. Paul Turban (7 April 2020). "Coronavirus: who is Jean Castex, the "Mr. Deconfinement" of the government?". RTL Group.
  5. Michel Rose (July 3, 2020), Factbox: Who is France's new prime minister, Jean Castex? Reuters.
  6. Copé, Fillon et l'UMP : qui soutient qui ? L'Obs, October 17, 2012.
  7. "Qui est Jean Castex, le nouveau Premier ministre?". BFMTV (in French). Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  8. "Macron appoints new PM after Philippe resigns". BBC News. 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  9. "Jean Castex named as new French prime minister". The Telegraph. 3 July 2020.
  10. Arnaud Focraud (July 3, 2020), Les multiples vies de Jean Castex, nouveau Premier ministre d'Emmanuel Macron Le Journal du Dimanche.
  11. Braun, Elisa. "5 things to know about France's new PM Jean Castex". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
  12. "Le Premier ministre français, défenseur de l'identité catalane". Equinox (in French). 2020-07-03. Retrieved 2020-07-04.
Political offices
Preceded by
Jean-François Denis		 Mayor of Prades
2008–2020		 Succeeded by
Yves Delcor
Preceded by
Xavier Musca		 Deputy Secretary General of the
Presidency of the Republic
2011–2012		 Succeeded by
Emmanuel Macron
Succeeded by
Nicolas Revel
New office President of the Community of communes
Conflent Canigó
2008–2020		 Succeeded by
Jean-Louis Jallat
Preceded by
Édouard Philippe		 Prime Minister of France
2020–present		 Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded by
Emmanuel Macron
as President of the Republic		 Order of precedence in France
as Prime Minister
2020–present		 Succeeded by
Gérard Larcher
as President of the Senate
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