Jack Lang (French politician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
Jack Lang
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 19 June 2002 |
|
| Preceded by | Dominique Dupilet |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| In office 27 March 2000 – 5 May 2002 |
|
| Preceded by | Claude Allègre |
| Succeeded by | Luc Ferry |
| In office 3 April 1992 – 29 March 1993 |
|
| Preceded by | Lionel Jospin |
| Succeeded by | François Bayrou |
|
|
|
| In office 13 May 1988 – 2 April 1992 |
|
| Preceded by | François Léotard |
| Succeeded by | Jacques Toubon |
| In office 22 May 1981 – 19 March 1986 |
|
| Preceded by | Michel d'Ornano |
| Succeeded by | François Léotard |
|
|
|
| In office 16 March 1986 – 28 July 1988 |
|
| In office 1 June 1997 – 27 April 2000 |
|
|
Mayor of Blois
|
|
| In office 20 March 1989 – 2000 |
|
| Preceded by | Pierre Sudreau |
| Succeeded by | Bernard Valette |
|
|
|
| Born | 2 September 1939 Mirecourt, Vosges, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Political party | Socialist |
Jack Mathieu Émile Lang (born 2 September 1939[1]) is a French politician and a member of the French Socialist Party. He currently serves in the National Assembly from the sixth district of Pas-de-Calais.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Lang was born to Roger Lang and Marie-Luce Bouchet in Mirecourt, in the département of Vosges, and is of Jewish ancestry. [1] He studied political science at the Paris Institute of Political Studies and went on to receive a postgraduate degree in public law. His career then focused on a combination of teaching and culture and the arts. He was the founder and producer of Festival du Monde in Nancy, France, was director of the Nancy University Theatre from 1963 to 1972 and then director of the Palais de Chaillot Théâtre from 1972 to 1974. At the same time he was a professor of international law from 1971 to 1981. He married Monique Buczynski in 1961 and they have two daughters.
[edit] Politics
Lang entered politics as a Socialist member of French National Assembly from Paris in 1977. He is best known for having served as Minister of Culture (22 May 1981 – 19 March 1986 and 13 May 1988 – 29 March 1993) and as Minister of Education (3 April 1992 – 29 March 1993 and 27 March 2000 – 5 May 2002).[1]
In 1981, while Minister of Culture, he created the Fête de la Musique, a massive celebration of music held on 21 June each year, where many amateur musicians give free open-air performances. He is the co-founder and president of the Union of the Theatres of Europe.
In August 1981, he created the Lang Law, which fixes the price of books.
Lang was a Member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 1997.[1] In 2000 he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Paris. While he had planned to run for president in 2007 he decided not to register as a candidate for the Socialist nomination in the name of party unity.
In 2007, Lang agreed to become co-chairman of a commission drafting changes to the Constitution that were supported by President Nicolas Sarkozy and opposed by the Socialist Party. This decision provoked strong criticism from his party, leading him to end his role in the party leadership. When Parliament voted on the constitutional changes on 21 July 2008, he voted in favor, becoming the only Socialist deputy to do so. A three-fifths majority was required, and the changes passed by a vote of 539 to 357, meaning that Lang's support enabled the bill to pass by a one-vote margin. The Socialist Party denounced Lang for this vote; party spokesman Julien Dray said that he had "gone too far" and "no longer has his place in our political family", while Jean-Marc Ayrault, the President of the Socialist Parliamentary Group, said that Lang's vote was an act of "crossing the Rubicon". Lang replied by saying that it "is in nobody's power to strike me from the map of the French political landscape".[2]
[edit] Political career
Governmental functions
Minister of Culture : 1981-1986
Minister of Culture, Communication, Great Works and of the Bicentennial : 1988-1991
Minister of Culture and Communication, government's spokesman : 1991-1992
Minister of State, minister of National Education and Culture : 1992-1993
Minister of National Education : 2000-2002
Electoral mandates
Member of the National Assembly of France for Loir-et-Cher : 1986-1988 (Became minister in 1988) / 1997-2000 (Became minister in 2000)
Member of the National Assembly of France for Pas-de-Calais : Since 2002
Member of European Parliament : 1994-1997 (Reelected member of the National Assembly of France in 1997)
Regional councillor of Centre (region) : 1992-1998
Vice-president of the Regional Council of Nord-Pas-de-Calais : Since 2004
General councillor of Loir-et-Cher : 1992-1993
Municipal councillor of Paris 1983-1989
Mayor of Blois : 1989-2000
Municipal councillor of Blois : 2001-2002
[edit] Bibliography
See also the bibliography on his website (in French).
- Caplan, Lincoln, "M. Le Ministre" The New Yorker 60/47 (7 January 1985) : 18-19
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d CV at National Assembly website (French).
- ^ Samuel, Henry (21 July 2008). "Leading French Socialist dumped for supporting Nicolas Sarkozy reforms". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/2445214/Leading-French-Socialist-dumped-for-supporting-Nicolas-Sarkozy-reforms.html.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jack Lang |
| Preceded by Michel d'Ornano |
Minister of Culture 1981-1986 |
Succeeded by François Léotard |
| Preceded by François Léotard |
Minister of Culture 1988-1993 |
Succeeded by Jacques Toubon |
| Preceded by Lionel Jospin |
Minister of Education 1992-1993 |
Succeeded by François Bayrou |
| Preceded by Claude Allègre |
Minister of Education 2000-2002 |
Succeeded by Luc Ferry |
