Key facts on Michel Barnier, France's new prime minister
Key facts on Michel Barnier, France's new prime minister
French President Emmanuel Macron appointed the European Union's former Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier as his new prime minister on Thursday in a bid to end political paralysis following an inconclusive snap election.
Here are a few key facts about Barnier:
* 1951 - Born Jan. 9 in La Tronche, a suburb of the French Alpine city of Grenoble.
* 1978 - Elected to parliament aged 27, representing the Gaullist, centre-right Savoie district.
* 1992 - Co-organiser of Winter Olympics held at Albertville in his constituency, an event still central to his public image.
* 1993-95 - Environment minister.
* 1995-97 - France's Europe minister.
* 1999-2004 - EU regional policy commissioner, responsible for grants and subsidies accounting for a third of Union's budget.
* 2004-05 - Foreign minister.
* 2007-09 - Agriculture minister.
* 2009-10 - EU lawmaker.
* 2010-14 - EU commissioner for internal market and services. Negotiated extensive new regulation of financial markets after the global crash, including reforms unpopular in the City of London.
* 2016 - Named EU's Brexit negotiator after Britain's referendum on leaving the bloc.
* 2021 - Failed in a bid to get his conservative party's nomination for the 2022 presidential election.
This article was produced by Reuters news agency. It has not been edited by Global South World.