Christian Jacob (politician)
Christian Jacob (born 4 December 1959) is a French politician who was the president of the Republicans party from 2019 to 2022. Over the course of his career, he held several cabinet positions, including as the Minister of French Civil Service in Jacques Chirac's second term as President of France.[1]
Christian Jacob
Ghislain Bray
4 December 1959
Rozay-en-Brie, France
The Republicans (2015–present)
Rally for the Republic (1995-2002)
Union for a Popular Movement (2002–2015)
He served as the Member of the National Assembly for Seine-et-Marne's 4th constituency between 1995 and 2002, and then again between 2007 and 2022. He chose to not seek re-election in the 2022 French legislative election.[2]
Political career[edit]
Member of the European Parliament, 1994–1997[edit]
Jacob became a Member of the European Parliament in the 1994 elections. In parliament, he served on the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. In addition to his committee assignments, he was part of the parliament's delegation for relations with Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.[4]
Career in government, 2002–2007[edit]
Following the 2002 elections, Jacob was appointed to the government of Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. He first served as Minister Delegate in charge of the Family from 2002 until 2004. In 2004, he became Minister Delegate in charge of SMEs, Trade, Crafts, Liberal Professions and Consumer Affairs,[5] which later became a fully-fledged ministry. In 2005, in the government of Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, he was appointed Minister for the Civil Service.
Political positions[edit]
Foreign policy[edit]
When President François Hollande and the French government sought to bolster the case for military action against President Bashar al-Assad's government amid the Syrian civil war in 2013, Jacob held that an intervention "could only be justified in the framework of the United Nations" and expressed concern that France was out of step with its neighbors, including Germany.[29]
In 2014, Jacob criticized the Socialist majority for backing France's recognition of the State of Palestine as a move to "add fuel to the fire in a region that doesn't need that at all."[30]
Ahead of Hollande's 2015 visit to meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Jacob called on him to push for an end to the European Union sanctions on Russia over its activities in Ukraine.[31]
In July 2019, Jacob voted against the French ratification of the European Union's Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with Canada.[32]
Domestic policy[edit]
Amid a 2019 public debate in France about women wearing hijabs in public, Jacob demanded that clothing restrictions applied to teachers and students be extended to parents who sign up for class trips.[33] In an interview with Le Figaro newspaper, he said: "The veil should be banned on all school time. Not just on school premises".[34]
Personal life[edit]
Jacob has in the past touted his passion for hunting and featured in full hunting attire in Paris Match magazine in July 2020.[35][36]