Nicole Belloubet

Nicole Belloubet (born 15 June 1955) is a French jurist and politician who served as Minister of Justice in the government of Prime Minister Édouard Philippe 21 June 2017 to 6 July 2020.[1] [2] She was appointed by President Emmanuel Macron after the resignation of François Bayrou.[3] She previously served on the Constitutional Council, following an appointment in 2013 by Jean-Pierre Bel, President of the Senate.[4]

Nicole Belloubet
Minister of Justice
In office 21 June 2017 – 6 July 2020
President	Emmanuel Macron
Prime Minister	Édouard Philippe
Preceded by	François Bayrou
Succeeded by	Éric Dupond-Moretti
Member of the Constitutional Council
In office 14 March 2013 – 21 June 2017
Appointed by	Jean-Pierre Bel
President	Jean-Louis Debré Laurent Fabius
Preceded by	Jacqueline de Guillenchmidt
Succeeded by	Dominique Lottin
Personal details
Born	15 June 1955 Paris, France
Political party	Socialist Party (1983-2017) Independent (from 2017)
Alma mater	Panthéon-Assas University Pantheon-Sorbonne University
Website	Council website

Early life and education

Belloubet was born to an engineer from a modest farming family and the manager of a small Parisian hotel.[5]

Academic career

Belloubet began her career in teaching before becoming, at the age of 42, rector of the University of Limoges. She served in that office between 1997 and 2000 before becoming rector of the Academy of Toulouse until 2005.[6] In 2005, she resigned from her post to protest against decisions made by the government of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin which wanted to reduce the number of teachers, among other reforms.[7]

Political career

Belloubet joined the Socialist Party (PS) in 1983.[8]

From 2000 to 2005, Belloubet chaired the French government's Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee for the Promotion of Gender Equality in the Education System. In particular, she drafted reports on "the future of the lycée" (2002) and on "combating gender-based and sexual violence in schools" (2001). She has also written on secularism and co-education in schools.[9]

In parallel to her teaching, Belloubet later pursued a career in local politics, in particular as first deputy to the Socialist Mayor of Toulouse, Pierre Cohen, between 2008 and 2010. In 2010, she became regional councillor for Midi-Pyrénées, of which she was also first vice-president.[10]

On 12 February 2013, Belloubet was appointed by Jean-Pierre Bel, President of the Senate, to serve on the Constitutional Council for a nine-year term, succeeding Jacqueline de Guillenchmidt.[11] She became the first woman professor of law appointed to the Constitutional Council, and the seventh female member of the institution.

As Minister of Justice, Belloubet's first major project was to steer through the legislative process two bills on public ethics that were meant to help clean up national politics after hard-fought debates over a clause scrapping lawmakers’ constituency funds, which critics argued encourage clientelism.[12] Internationally, she made headlines in 2019 when she publicly rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for European allies to repatriate hundreds of Islamic State fighters from Syria and instead announced that France would be taking back militants on a “case-by-case” basis.[13]

Controversy

When she joined the government in June 2017, Belloubet omitted to declare part of her shares in several real estate assets, including a house in Aveyron and two apartments in Paris.[14]

Personal life

Belloubet was married Pierre-Laurent Frier, professor of public law at the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne, until his death in 2005. The couple had three sons.[15]

References

1. "Gouvernement Castex en direct : Darmanin nommé ministre de l'intérieur, Dupond-Moretti garde des sceaux et Bachelot à la culture". Le Monde.fr (in French). 6 July 2020.
2. Michel Rose and Marine Pennetier (21 June 2017), France's Macron taps relative unknowns in government reshuffle Reuters.
3. Anne-Sylvaine Chassany (21 June 2017), Macron loses four ministers in a week Financial Times.
4. Johannès, Franck (21 June 2017). "Nicole Belloubet, une professeure de droit au ministère de la justice". Le Monde.fr (in French). ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
5. Mariana Grépinet (3 February 2018), Nicole Belloubet, le calme après la tempête Paris Match.
6. Qui est Nicole Belloubet, la nouvelle garde des Sceaux ? Le Point, 21 June 2017.
7. Mariana Grépinet (3 February 2018), Nicole Belloubet, le calme après la tempête Paris Match.
8. Mariana Grépinet (3 February 2018), Nicole Belloubet, le calme après la tempête Paris Match.
9. Qui est Nicole Belloubet, la nouvelle garde des Sceaux ? Le Point, 21 June 2017.
10. Qui est Nicole Belloubet, la nouvelle garde des Sceaux ? Le Point, 21 June 2017.
11. Qui est Nicole Belloubet, la nouvelle garde des Sceaux ? Le Point, 21 June 2017.
12. Emile Picy (9 August 2017), France's parliament approves bill to clean up politics Reuters.
13. Richard Lough and Caroline Pailliez (18 February 2019), France snubs Trump's appeal to repatriate IS fighters en masse, for now Reuters.
14. Guillaume Errard (22 January 2018), Ces ministres qui ont (sensiblement) sous-évalué leur patrimoine immobilier Le Figaro.
15. Mariana Grépinet (3 February 2018), Nicole Belloubet, le calme après la tempête Paris Match.

External links

• Nicole Belloubet on the Constitutional Council website