Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet
Nathalie Geneviève Marie Kosciusko-Morizet (French pronunciation: [nataˈli kosjysˈko moʁiˈzɛ]) (born 14 May 1973 in the 15th arrondissement of Paris), often referred to by her initials NKM, is an engineer, public figure and advocate, having previously enjoyed a distinguished political career.
Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet | |
|---|---|
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| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office 23 March 2012 – 18 June 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Guy Malherbe |
| Succeeded by | Marie-Pierre Rixain |
| Constituency | Essonne's 4th |
| In office 19 July 2002 – 19 July 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Pierre-André Wiltzer |
| Succeeded by | Guy Malherbe |
| Constituency | Essonne's 4th |
| Mayor of Longjumeau | |
| In office 22 March 2008 – 25 February 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Bernard Nieuviaert |
| Succeeded by | Sandrine Gelot-Rateau |
| Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing | |
| In office 14 November 2010 – 22 February 2012 | |
| President | Nicolas Sarkozy |
| Prime Minister | François Fillon |
| Preceded by | Jean-Louis Borloo |
| Succeeded by | François Fillon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 14 May 1973 Paris, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Political party | The Republicans |
| Spouse(s) | Jean-Pierre Philippe
( m. 2003; div. 2016) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | École Polytechnique Collège des Ingénieurs |
She was a Member of Parliament, returned to the National Assembly from the Essonne 4th constituency for three consecutive mandates from 2002 to 2017, mayor of Longjumeau from 2008 to 2013, and an unsuccessful mayoral candidate for Paris in 2014. She has held positions of Regional Councillor for Île-de-France. She was twice a member of the French government and Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing. She was also Assistant General Secretary of then majority party UMP and spokesperson for Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2012 presidential election. Since standing for mayor of Paris in March 2014, she had been leader of the opposition of the Council of Paris until her withdrawal from politics. From December 2014 to December 2015 she was Vice President of then opposition party UMP (renamed The Republicans).
Early life
Kosciusko-Morizet was born on 14 May 1973. She is of Polish Jewish descent but was raised Roman Catholic.[1] She comes from a political family, the Kosciusko-Morizets. Her grandfather, Jacques Kosciusko (1913–1994) was an academic, a member of the French Resistance during the war, a Gaullist politician and former French ambassador in the US whose father-in-law, André Morizet, was a socialist senator and mayor of Boulogne-Billancourt. Her father François Kosciusko-Morizet (1940–2015) was the mayor of Sèvres. She is also the sister of Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet (b. 1977), one of the founders of Priceminister.com, the third ranked e-commerce site in France. According to genealogists, she is also related to Lucrezia Borgia from her mother's side, the Treuille family.[2]
She graduated from the École Polytechnique and the Collège des Ingénieurs.
Career
Local elections
As a twenty-nine-year-old, she was elected a member of the French National Assembly in 2002, representing the department of Essonne, to the south of Paris, serving out the term for Pierre-André Wiltzer who was appointed deputy minister. She was reelected in 2007 and 2012.
She was elected mayor of Longjumeau (Essonne) in March 2008.
Member of cabinets
In 2007, she became a state secretary in the French government responsible for the environment. Then in 2009 she became state secretary with responsibility for Forward Planning, Assessment of Public Policies and Development of the Digital Economy, before being appointed Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing in November 2010.
In 2012, she left her position as minister to become spokesperson for Nicolas Sarkozy during his presidential reelection campaign.
Municipal candidacy for Paris
In February 2013, she announced she would be a candidate for the Mayor of Paris in the 2014 local elections. She faced among others Rachida Dati in the UMP primary election. The polls had Kosciusko-Morizet as a favourite to win the primary. She was endorsed by François Fillon.[3]
On June 3, 2013 she won UMP's primaries for the office of Mayor of Paris with 58.16% of the vote.
In the Mayoral elections held on March 23 and March 30, 2014, Kosciusko-Morizet's UMP lists were defeated by the lists led by Socialist Deputy Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who was elected Mayor of Paris on April 4, 2015. The Socialist, Green and Communist parties created a coalition with 91 councillors, while the UMP and UDI-Modem parties were relegated to the opposition with 71 councillors.
Candidacy for The Republicans primary
After Nicolas Sarkozy's return in politics in 2014, she has been appointed vice-president of the UMP (since 2015 The Republicans) to represent the moderate fringe of the party, while her rival Laurent Wauquiez represented the hardline part. After the 2015 regional elections, during which Wauquiez successfully ran in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, she has been ousted by Sarkozy after criticizing his strategy and was replaced by Wauquiez.
Then, she announced her candidacy for the primary. Despite some difficulties, she got the sufficient number of supports to run. She finished fourth with only 2.6% of the vote, far behind Nicolas Sarkozy (20.1%). She endorsed Alain Juppé for the second round.
2017 defeat
In the French legislative election of 2017, she stood in Paris's 2nd constituency, previously held by former prime minister François Fillon. During the campaign, she was hospitalised for a night after falling on the pavement and hitting her head when a protester threw a batch of election leaflets in her face.[4] She was defeated in the second round of the election by La République En Marche! candidate Gilles Le Gendre.[5]
Political positions
Although close to Jacques Chirac throughout his presidency, she is a strong advocate of green issues, and can be described as a part of the "blue ecologists" group. In an interview to the Daily Telegraph in March 2013, she said she held "a lot of admiration" for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.[3]
Personal life
She was married to Jean-Pierre Philippe and has two sons, born in 2005 and 2009. In March 2016, she announced that she and JP Philippe had divorced by mutual consent.
Political offices held
Governmental functions
Secretary of State for Ecology : 2007–2009.
Secretary of State and Prospective Development of the Digital Economy : 2009–2010.
Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing: November 2010 – February 2012 (She resigned from government to become spokeswoman of Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign).
Electoral mandates
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Essonne (4th constituency) : 2002–2007 (Became secretary of State in 2007). Elected in 2002, reelected in 2007.
Regional Council
Regional councillor of Ile-de-France : 2004–2010 (She resigned in November 2010). Reelected in 2010.
Municipal Council
Mayor of Longjumeau : Since 2008.
Municipal councillor of Longjumeau : Since 2008.
Agglomeration Community Council
Vice-president of the Europ'Essonne Agglomeration Community Council : Since 2008.
Member of the Europ'Essonne Agglomeration Community Council : Since 2008.
References
- "French center-right lawmaker in hospital after suspected assault". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
- NKM et les Borgia - Le Point
- Paris mayoral candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet: I want to lure the French back from London The Daily Telegraph, 1 March 2013
- Willsher, Kin (15 June 2017). "French politician left unconscious while out campaigning". Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- Maupoil, Tristan Quinault (19 June 2017). "Résultats législatives : Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet concède sa défaite à Paris". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 19 June 2017.
Sources
- Mme Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Assemblée nationale (in French)
- (in French)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Jean-Louis Borloo |
Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing 2010–2012 |
Succeeded by François Fillon |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Françoise de Panafieu |
Union for a popular movement Nominee for Mayor of Paris 2014 |
Most recent |
Authority control  |
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