Martin Hirsch is the former head of Emmaüs France

Emmaus (charity)

Emmaus is an international charitable movement founded in France in 1949 by the priest Abbé Pierre to combat poverty and homelessness.Since 1971 regional and national initiatives have been grouped under a parent organisation, Emmaus International, now run by Jean Rousseau, representing 310 groups...

, the former High Commissioner

High Commissioner

High Commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.-Bilateral diplomacy:...

 for Active Solidarity against Poverty, and the High Commissioner for Youth in the government of François Fillon

François Fillon

François Charles Armand Fillon is the Prime Minister of France. He was appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007. He served initially until 13 November 2010 when he resigned from being prime minister before a planned cabinet reshuffle.On 14 November 2010, Sarkozy...

. Hirsch was in charge of setting up the Revenu de solidarité active

Revenu de solidarité active

The Revenu de solidarité active is a French form of social welfare. It is aimed at people working with low wages and provide them with a complement; its aim is to encourage activity. It was implemented on 1 June 2009 by the French government....

 and left the government in March 2010 to head the state's Civic Service Agency.

Hirsch holds a Master's degree in Neurobiology and is an alumnus of the École Normale Supérieure

École Normale Supérieure

The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...

 and of the École Nationale d'Administration

École nationale d'administration

The École Nationale d'Administration , one of the most prestigious of French graduate schools , was created in 1945 by Charles de Gaulle to democratise access to the senior civil service. It is now entrusted with the selection and initial training of senior French officials...

.

External links

• Blog of Martin Hirsh on the Nouvel Observateur website (in French).