Matthias Fekl

Matthias Fekl (French pronunciation: ​[matja(s) fɛkl]; born 4 October 1977) is a French politician who served as Minister of the Interior in the government of Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve in 2017. A member of the Socialist Party, he was elected to the National Assembly in the second constituency of Lot-et-Garonne in 2012, retaining his seat until 2014, when he became Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Tourism and French citizens abroad. In 2017, he briefly returned to Parliament for the remainder of his term.[1]

Matthias Fekl
Minister of the Interior
In office
21 March 2017 – 10 May 2017
Prime MinisterBernard Cazeneuve
Preceded byBruno Le Roux
Succeeded byGérard Collomb
Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Tourism and French citizens abroad
In office
4 September 2014 – 21 March 2017
Prime MinisterManuel Valls
Bernard Cazeneuve
Preceded byThomas Thévenoud
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Member of the National Assembly
for Lot-et-Garonne's 2nd constituency
In office
17 June 2017 – 20 June 2017
Preceded byRégine Povéda
Succeeded byAlexandre Freschi
In office
20 June 2012 – 4 October 2014
Preceded byMichel Diefenbacher
Succeeded byRégine Povéda
Personal details
Born (1977-10-04) 4 October 1977
Frankfurt, West Germany
(now Germany)
Political partySocialist Party
EducationLycée Henri-IV
Alma materÉcole normale supérieure de Lyon
Sciences Po
École nationale d'administration

Early life and education

Fekl was born on 4 October 1977 in Frankfurt, West Germany.[2] His father is a German university professor and his mother is a French teacher. He grew up in West Berlin before moving to Paris, where he graduated from the Lycée Henri-IV. He later studied at various universities (Sciences Po, École normale supérieure de Lyon, École nationale d'administration).

Political career

Early political career

From 2010 to 2011, Fekl served as chief of staff to Jean-Pierre Bel, then president of the Socialist group in the Senate. When Bel became President of the Senate, Fekl served as his special adviser. Fekl was elected member of the National Assembly in the 2012 legislative election. During his time in Parliament, he was a member of the Committee on Legal Affairs. In 2012, Interior Minister Manuel Valls mandated Fekl with a report on immigration which was later submitted to Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Secretary of State for Foreign Trade
Fekl at the 2015 WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi

In 2014, Fekl was appointed to be Secretary of State for Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development under the leadership of minister successive ministers Laurent Fabius and Jean-Marc Ayrault, succeeding Thomas Thévenoud.[3] During his time in office, France opened a trade office in Tehran in September 2015, leading the charge of European countries angling for a share of the Iranian market after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.[4]

In October 2016, Fekl launched his own political movement, the Movement for the Life of Ideas and Alternatives (Mouvement pour la vie des idées et des alternatives, Movida).[5] He also briefly belonged to the campaign team of Benoît Hamon for the 2017 presidential election.[6]

Minister of the Interior

Fekl was appointed as Minister of the Interior on 21 March 2017, succeeding Bruno Le Roux, who was forced to resign after it was revealed that he had employed his two daughters, at the age of 15, as parliamentary assistants.[7] In response to the March 2017 social unrest in French Guiana, Fekl and fellow cabinet member Ericka Bareigts were dispatched to the overseas French department by Prime Minister Cazeneuve.[8] He ran for reelection to the National Assembly in the 2017 legislative election but was defeated by Alexandre Freschi, who stood for La République En Marche! (REM).

References
  1. "M. Matthias Fekl". National Assembly. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  2. "Conférence de presse de Matthias Fekl" (PDF). Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  3. "Matthias Fekl". gouvernement.fr. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
  4. Thomas Erdbrink (21 September 2015), France Opens Trade Office in Iran, The New York Times.
  5. Bastien Bonnefous (October 4, 2016), Matthias Fekl lance « Movida », son mouvement politique, Le Monde.
  6. Lilian Alemagna (22 March 2017), Fekl, de la graine de Hollande Libération.
  7. Arthur Berdah (21 March 2017). "Contraint à la démission, Le Roux remplacé par Fekl au ministère de l'Intérieur". Le FIgaro. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  8. Gérard Bon and Adrian Croft (March 28, 2017), France dispatches ministers to French Guiana after social unrest Reuters.
Political offices
Preceded by
Bruno Le Roux		 Minister of the Interior
2017		 Succeeded by
Gérard Collomb
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