Philippe Séguin

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Philippe Séguin wearing the ceremonial gown of first president of the Cour des Comptes

Philippe Séguin OQ (born April 21, 1943) is a former French politician, and is now first president of France's Cour des Comptes (Court of Financial Auditors).

He entered the Court of Financial Auditors in 1970, but he began a political career in the Neo-Gaullist party RPR. In 1978, he was elected to the National Assembly as a deputy for the Vosges département.

Representing the social tradition of the Gaullism, he was Minister of Social Affairs in Jacques Chirac's cabinet, from 1986 to 1988. After Chirac's defeat at the 1988 presidential election, he allied with Charles Pasqua and criticized the abandonment of Gaullist doctrine. He accused Alain Juppé and Édouard Balladur of wanting an alignment on liberal and pro-European policies.

In 1992 he played a leading role in the No campaign against the Maastricht Treaty. On the eve of the vote he opposed President François Mitterrand in a televised debate.

As president of the National Assembly from 1993 to 1997, he supported the winning candidacy of Jacques Chirac at the 1995 presidential election. He inspired his theme of campaign, "the social fracture".

Their relations deteriorated when he took the lead of the RPR, after the right-wing defeat at the 1997 legislative election. He failed to change the name of the party to "The Rally". He criticized the ascendancy of President Chirac within the party, refusing to be the leader of a "Chirac's fan-club". He resigned in 1999 just before the European elections, leaving his deputy Nicolas Sarkozy in charge.

As the RPR's official candidate, he lost the 2001 mayoral election in Paris. Refusing the merge of the Neo-Gaullist party with the right-wing classical forces in the Union for a Popular Movement, he quit politics in 2002.

[edit] External links

• Official page (French)

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