History:Jean Castex

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Short description: Prime Minister of France
Jean Castex
Portrait Jean Castex (cropped).jpg
Castex in 2020
Prime Minister of France
Assumed office
3 July 2020
PresidentEmmanuel Macron
Preceded byÉdouard Philippe
President of Conflent Canigó (Community of Communes)
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
Personal details
Born (1965-06-25) 25 June 1965 (age 58)
Vic-Fezensac, France
NationalityFrench
Political partyLa République En Marche! (2020–present)
Other political
affiliations
Union for a Popular Movement (until 2015)
The Republicans (2015–2020)
Spouse(s)Sandra Ribelaygue
Children4
ResidenceHôtel Matignon (official)
Alma materUniversity of Toulouse 2
Sciences Po
École nationale d'administration
Signature

Jean Castex (French: [ʒɑ̃ kastɛks]; born 25 June 1965) is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since 3 July 2020.[1] He was member of The Republicans (LR) until 2020, when he joined La République En Marche! (LREM). Castex served for twelve years as Mayor of Prades, a small town in Southern France, until his appointment as Prime Minister by President Emmanuel Macron.

Political career

Elected in 2000 as Mayor of Prades, Pyrénées-Orientales,[2] from 2010 until 2011, Castex served under Health Minister Xavier Bertrand as Chief of Staff in François Fillon's ministry.[3] He succeeded Raymond Soubie as Secretary-General of the Élysée under President Nicolas Sarkozy between 2011 and 2012. In the UMP 2012 leadership primaries, he endorsed Fillon.[4]

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.[5] 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.[6][7] Following Édouard Philippe's resignation on 3 July 2020, Castex was appointed Prime Minister by President Emmanuel Macron.[8] His appointment was described as a "doubling down on a course that is widely seen as centre-right in economic terms".[9] Castex subsequently named his government on 6 July.[10][11]

Personal life

Castex, who has a southwestern French accent, is married to Sandra Ribelaygue;[12] they have four daughters.[13]

A fluent Catalan language speaker, Castex is regarded a defender of the Catalan identity in Southern France and other regional sensibilities.[14] He is also friends with the ex-trades union leader Jean-Claude Mailly and the physician Patrick Pelloux, a former columnist at Charlie Hebdo.[12]

Honours

Ribbon bar Honour Date and comment
Legion Honneur Chevalier ribbon.svg Knight of the Legion of Honour 2020
National Order of Merit Grand Cross Ribbon.png Grand Cross of the National Order of Merit 2020 (ex officio)
2006 (knight)

See also

  • Castex government

References

  1. Mallet, Victor. "Macron names Jean Castex as new French prime minister". Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/7981cdd1-3c9e-46d6-8090-2dae4ab9c8af. 
  2. Paul Turban (7 April 2020). "Coronavirus: who is Jean Castex, the "Mr. Déconfinement" of the government?". RTL Group. https://www.rtl.fr/actu/politique/coronavirus-qui-est-jean-castex-le-monsieur-deconfinement-du-gouvernement-7800370214. 
  3. Michel Rose (July 3, 2020), Factbox: Who is France's new prime minister, Jean Castex? Reuters .
  4. Copé, Fillon et l'UMP : qui soutient qui ? L'Obs, October 17, 2012.
  5. "Qui est Jean Castex, le nouveau Premier ministre?" (in fr). https://www.bfmtv.com/politique/qui-est-jean-castex-le-nouveau-premier-ministre_AN-202007030149.html. 
  6. "Macron appoints new PM after Philippe resigns" (in en-GB). BBC News. 2020-07-03. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-53276582. 
  7. "Jean Castex named as new French prime minister". The Telegraph. 3 July 2020. https://www.thetelegraph.com/news/article/French-prime-minister-resigns-reshuffle-expected-15384114.php. 
  8. "French president names Jean Castex, who coordinated France's virus reopening strategy, as new prime minister". Associated Press. 3 July 2020. https://apnews.com/6af43388ebac7bc8a7260e8ebd0baea7. 
  9. Momtaz, Rym (3 July 2020). "Picking low-profile French PM, Macron bets big on himself". Politico. https://www.politico.eu/article/macron-appoints-jean-castex-as-french-prime-minister/. 
  10. Government of the French Republic (7 July 2020). "Decree on the composition of the Government" (in fr). https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000042088964. 
  11. Pascale Davies & Alasdair Sandford with AFP (6 July 2020). "New French government named under Prime Minister Jean Castex in Macron reshuffle". Euronews. https://www.euronews.com/2020/07/06/france-s-new-prime-minister-castex-to-announce-government-reshuffle. 
  12. 12.0 12.1 Arnaud Focraud (July 3, 2020), Les multiples vies de Jean Castex, nouveau Premier ministre d'Emmanuel Macron Le Journal du Dimanche.
  13. Braun, Elisa. "5 things to know about France's new PM Jean Castex" (in en). https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/03/5-things-to-know-about-frances-new-pm-jean-castex-348530. 
  14. "Le Premier ministre français, défenseur de l'identité catalane" (in fr-FR). 2020-07-03. https://www.equinoxmagazine.fr/2020/07/03/le-premier-ministre-francais-defenseur-de-lidentite-catalane/. 

External links

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
Preceded by
Emmanuel Macron
as President of the Republic
Order of precedence in France
Prime Minister
Succeeded by
Gérard Larcher
as President of the Senate