Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres
Encyclopedia
Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres (born 13 March 1954 in Neuilly-sur-Seine
), often known as RDDV, is a French politician, France's Minister of Culture
from 2004 to 2007. He is a member of the UMP
right-wing party, and the grandson of Henri Donnedieu de Vabres
.
(ENA), a school for high-level civil servants, which he entered in 1978.
After graduating in 1980 from ENA, he started his career in the prefect
oral administration as a sub-prefect, chief of staff of the Indre-et-Loire
prefect, then was secretary-general for the police in the Centre region (1980–1981), secretary-general of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
prefecture (1981–1982), sub-prefect of the Château-Thierry
arrondissement (1982–1985).
group and reporter for the budget (1986–1993).
He began his national political career as an aide to François Léotard
when the latter was Minister of Culture
(1987–1988) in the government of then prime minister
Jacques Chirac
, then as chief of staff in the Republican Party
, then one of the components of the UDF. Starting from 1990, he became member of the political bureau of the party, then delegate-general from 1995 à 1997.
From 1993 to 1995, he was an aide to François Léotard, Minister of Defence
in the government of then prime minister Édouard Balladur
. Within this role, he participated in the negotiation of an important sale of two anti-air frigate
s to Saudi Arabia
by a company affiliated with the Ministry; the contract, for approximately 19 billion French franc
s, was signed on 19 November 1994. There were suspicions that this contract generated massive kickback
s for the funding of the Republican Party and, as a consequence, a complex judicial enquiry was started. Finally, on 16 February 2004, the correctional court of Paris convicted Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres of money laundering
, with a 15,000€ fine. He was not, however, deprived of the right to run for office.
During the 1995 presidential election
, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres was in the campaign team of Édouard Balladur
. In March 2001, he was the right-wing candidate in the municipal election in Tours
in March 2001, but he was beaten from the outgoing PS mayor, Jean Germain.
From 1997 to 2002 he was deputy to the National Assembly
for the first constituency of Indre-et-Loire
, from the UDF
center-right party.
In 1999, he voted against the PACS
, a domestic partnership law aimed at enabling homosexuals to form legal couples.
During the 2002 presidential election
, he distanced himself from the UDF leader François Bayrou
and supported Jacques Chirac
's reelection bid. At the ensueing legislative election, he was reelected deputy.
On 7 May 2002, he was appointed delegate minister for European
affairs in the government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin
, a position that he quit in the 16 June cabinet reshuffle as a result of the announcement of the aforementioned criminal investigation in the financial affairs of the Republican Party. He became deputy secretary general of the UMP
party, the party supporting Jacques Chirac, then spokesperson in 2003.
Despite his 16 February 2004, conviction, he was, on 31 March, appointed Minister of Culture and communication in the third cabinet of prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, and was kept at this position on 2 June 2005, for the government of Dominique de Villepin
.
In 2005, he rose to fame by defending the controversial DADVSI
copyright bill before the French parliament, resulting in a variety of criticism against him from both the opposition and members of his own party. On this occasion, president of the National Assembly
Jean-Louis Debré
, a fellow UMP member, is reported to have declared that Donnedieu de Vabres was "a zero who put us in the shit and, from the start, dragged us into an adventure". Because of his staunch support for the law, he is the target of a campaign of Google bombing mapping ministre blanchisseur ("laundering minister") to a press article about his conviction.
Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres ran unsuccessfully in the 2007 legislative elections.
Governmental functions
Minister for European affairs : May-June 2002.
Minister of Culture and Communication : 2004-2007.
Electoral mandates
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Indre-et-Loire
: 1997-2002 (Became minister in 2002) / 2002-2004 (Became minister in 2004). Elected in 1997, reelected in 2002.
Regional Council
Vice-president of the Regional Council of Centre : 1992-1998.
Regional councillor of Centre : 1986-2001 (Resignation) : Reelected in 1992, 1998.
Municipal Council
Municipal councillor of Tours
: Since 2001. Reelected in 2008.
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
), often known as RDDV, is a French politician, France's Minister of Culture
Minister of Culture (France)
The Minister of Culture is, in the Government of France, the cabinet member in charge of national museums and monuments; promoting and protecting the arts in France and abroad; and managing the national archives and regional "maisons de culture"...
from 2004 to 2007. He is a member of the UMP
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
right-wing party, and the grandson of Henri Donnedieu de Vabres
Henri Donnedieu de Vabres
Henri Donnedieu de Vabres was a French jurist who took part to during the Nuremberg trials after World War II. He was the primary French judge during the proceedings, with Robert Falco as his alternate.Donnedieu was born in Nîmes...
.
Studies and administrative functions
Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres has a degree in economics, and a diploma from the Paris Institute of Political Studies, a traditional starting point for attending the École nationale d'administrationÉcole 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...
(ENA), a school for high-level civil servants, which he entered in 1978.
After graduating in 1980 from ENA, he started his career in the prefect
Préfet
A prefect in France is the State's representative in a department or region. Sub-prefects are responsible for the subdivisions of departments, arrondissements...
oral administration as a sub-prefect, chief of staff of the Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
prefect, then was secretary-general for the police in the Centre region (1980–1981), secretary-general of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence is a French department in the south of France, it was formerly part of the province of Provence.- History :Nord-de-Provence was one of the 83 original departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
prefecture (1981–1982), sub-prefect of the Château-Thierry
Château-Thierry
Château-Thierry is a commune in northern France about east-northeast of Paris. It is a sub-prefecture of the Aisne department in Picardy.-History:...
arrondissement (1982–1985).
Political career
From 1986 to 2001 he was regional councillor in the Centre region, president of the UDFUnion for French Democracy
The Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
group and reporter for the budget (1986–1993).
He began his national political career as an aide to François Léotard
François Léotard
François Gerard Marie Léotard is a retired French politician. The late singer and actor Philippe Léotard was his brother....
when the latter was Minister of Culture
Minister of Culture (France)
The Minister of Culture is, in the Government of France, the cabinet member in charge of national museums and monuments; promoting and protecting the arts in France and abroad; and managing the national archives and regional "maisons de culture"...
(1987–1988) in the government of then prime minister
Prime Minister of France
The Prime Minister of France in the Fifth Republic is the head of government and of the Council of Ministers of France. The head of state is the President of the French Republic...
Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
, then as chief of staff in the Republican Party
Republican Party (France)
The Republican Party was a French right-wing political party founded in 1977. It replaced the National Federation of the Independent Republicans that was founded in 1966. It was created by former President of France Valéry Giscard d'Estaing...
, then one of the components of the UDF. Starting from 1990, he became member of the political bureau of the party, then delegate-general from 1995 à 1997.
From 1993 to 1995, he was an aide to François Léotard, Minister of Defence
Minister of Defence (France)
The Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs is the French government cabinet member charged with running the military of France....
in the government of then prime minister Édouard Balladur
Édouard Balladur
Édouard Balladur is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 29 March 1993 to 10 May 1995.-Biography:Balladur was born in İzmir, Turkey, to an Armenian Catholic family with five children and long-standing ties to France...
. Within this role, he participated in the negotiation of an important sale of two anti-air frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
s to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
by a company affiliated with the Ministry; the contract, for approximately 19 billion French franc
French franc
The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
s, was signed on 19 November 1994. There were suspicions that this contract generated massive kickback
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
s for the funding of the Republican Party and, as a consequence, a complex judicial enquiry was started. Finally, on 16 February 2004, the correctional court of Paris convicted Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres of money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, with a 15,000€ fine. He was not, however, deprived of the right to run for office.
During the 1995 presidential election
French presidential election, 1995
Presidential elections took place in France on 23 April and 7 May 1995, to elect the fifth president of the Fifth Republic.The incumbent Socialist president, François Mitterrand, did not stand for a third term. He was 78, had cancer, and his party had lost the previous legislative election in a...
, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres was in the campaign team of Édouard Balladur
Édouard Balladur
Édouard Balladur is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 29 March 1993 to 10 May 1995.-Biography:Balladur was born in İzmir, Turkey, to an Armenian Catholic family with five children and long-standing ties to France...
. In March 2001, he was the right-wing candidate in the municipal election in Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
in March 2001, but he was beaten from the outgoing PS mayor, Jean Germain.
From 1997 to 2002 he was deputy to the National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
for the first constituency of Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
, from the UDF
Union for French Democracy
The Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
center-right party.
In 1999, he voted against the PACS
Pacte civil de solidarité
In France, a pacte civil de solidarité commonly known as a PACS /paks/ , is a form of civil union between two adults for organising their joint life. It brings rights and responsibilities, but less so than marriage...
, a domestic partnership law aimed at enabling homosexuals to form legal couples.
During the 2002 presidential election
French presidential election, 2002
The 2002 French presidential election consisted of a first round election on 21 April 2002, and a runoff election between the top two candidates on 5 May 2002. This presidential contest attracted a greater than usual amount of international attention because of Le Pen's unexpected appearance in...
, he distanced himself from the UDF leader François Bayrou
François Bayrou
François Bayrou is a French centrist politician, president of Union for French Democracy since 1998 and was a candidate in the 2002 and 2007 French presidential elections. In the first round, he received 18.6% of the vote, finishing in 3rd place and therefore was eliminated from the race....
and supported Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
's reelection bid. At the ensueing legislative election, he was reelected deputy.
On 7 May 2002, he was appointed delegate minister for European
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
affairs in the government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Jean-Pierre Raffarin is a French conservative politician and senator for Vienne.Jean-Pierre Raffarin served as the Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005, resigning after France's rejection of the referendum on the European Union draft constitution. However, after Raffarin...
, a position that he quit in the 16 June cabinet reshuffle as a result of the announcement of the aforementioned criminal investigation in the financial affairs of the Republican Party. He became deputy secretary general of the UMP
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
party, the party supporting Jacques Chirac, then spokesperson in 2003.
Despite his 16 February 2004, conviction, he was, on 31 March, appointed Minister of Culture and communication in the third cabinet of prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, and was kept at this position on 2 June 2005, for the government of Dominique de Villepin
Dominique de Villepin
Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin is a French politician who served as the Prime Minister of France from 31 May 2005 to 17 May 2007....
.
In 2005, he rose to fame by defending the controversial DADVSI
DADVSI
DADVSI is the abbreviation of the French Loi sur le Droit d’Auteur et les Droits Voisins dans la Société de l’Information...
copyright bill before the French parliament, resulting in a variety of criticism against him from both the opposition and members of his own party. On this occasion, president of the National Assembly
French National Assembly
The French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The upper house is the Senate ....
Jean-Louis Debré
Jean-Louis Debré
Jean-Louis Debré is a conservative French political figure. He was President of the National Assembly of France from 2002 to 2007 and has been President of the Constitutional Council since 2007.-Biography:Debré was born in Toulouse...
, a fellow UMP member, is reported to have declared that Donnedieu de Vabres was "a zero who put us in the shit and, from the start, dragged us into an adventure". Because of his staunch support for the law, he is the target of a campaign of Google bombing mapping ministre blanchisseur ("laundering minister") to a press article about his conviction.
Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres ran unsuccessfully in the 2007 legislative elections.
Governmental functions
Minister for European affairs : May-June 2002.
Minister of Culture and Communication : 2004-2007.
Electoral mandates
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire
Indre-et-Loire is a department in west-central France named after the Indre and the Loire rivers.-History:Indre-et-Loire is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
: 1997-2002 (Became minister in 2002) / 2002-2004 (Became minister in 2004). Elected in 1997, reelected in 2002.
Regional Council
Vice-president of the Regional Council of Centre : 1992-1998.
Regional councillor of Centre : 1986-2001 (Resignation) : Reelected in 1992, 1998.
Municipal Council
Municipal councillor of Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
: Since 2001. Reelected in 2008.