France’s Public Audit Office President, Philippe Séguin, Philippe Séguin - on the left (21 April 1943 – 7 January 2010) was a former French politician, president of France's Cour des Comptes (Court of Financial Auditors).
In his capacity as First President of the Court of Financial Auditors, France’s supreme auditing institution, Mr Séguin had been responsible since 2004 for the external oversight of world police financial affairs.
Mr Séguin's advice had enabled the organization (world police) to strengthen its governance structure, notably its financial management.
Mr Séguin addressed General Assembly meetings in Rio de Janeiro in 2006, in Marrakesh in 2007, and in St Petersburg in 2008. He also attended the organization’s exec. Committee meetings.
He died at the age of 66 on 7 January 2010 from a heart attack.
more ~
January 8, 2010
Philippe Séguin: Gaullist politician
Among the senior Gaullist politicians of his day, Philippe Séguin was the one who remained most closely inspired by de Gaulle’s own twin ideals of social reformism and patriotic support for French sovereignty. This self-styled gaulliste de gauche repeatedly urged the governments of Jacques Chirac and others to do more for the poor and unemployed. He also fought against the erosion of France’s independence: in 1992 he famously led the campaign for a “no” vote in the referendum on the Maastricht treaty, passionately opposing its provisions for a common currency. He lost, but only just.
Burly, often untidy-looking, chain-smoking and affable, Séguin cultivated an old-fashioned man-of-the-people image, and was widely respected and rather popular. He was a powerful figure in the Gaullist party, the RPR (Rassemblement pour la République), and was its chairman in 1997-99. But his maverick outspokenness and divisive views prevented him from becoming, as he wished, its unifying saviour in its time of crisis; and he was never prime minister. He was frequently in conflict with his fellow Gaullist, President Chirac.
Philippe Daniel Alain Séguin was born in Tunis into a French pied noir settler family; his father, a teacher, was then killed in France fighting the Germans. This background may partly explain Séguin’s vibrant devotion to “la France”. Intellectually gifted, he studied history at Aix-en-Provence University, then entered France’s top elitist stream, attending the powerful civil service college, École Normale d’Administration, and becoming a member of the prestigious Cour des Comptes. But he was never himself elitist, in his manner or his views.
His early career was varied. He taught at two leading universities, he had an official post in physical education and in sport (this was a lifelong passion, notably football). More important, he was on the personal staff of President Pompidou in 1972-73, then of the Prime Minister Raymond Barre in 1977-78 — and thus began to be noticed.
He entered party politics, becoming an RPR deputy for the Vosges, and mayor of its capital, Epinal. In 1986-88 he was Chirac’s Minister for Social Affairs and Employment, and within the limits of RPR policies this gave him a chance to put his “social” ideas into action: he was open-minded towards the unions, and got on easily with them.
With the RPR back in opposition, Séguin in 1989 made his first onslaught on Chirac, the party leader: with some other younger deputies, he accused the RPR hierarchy of being too rigid and right-wing. The revolt failed, but it left its mark. Then in 1992, when President Mitterrand called a referendum on ratifying the Maastricht treaty, Chirac and most of the RPR joined the “yes” camp: but Séguin again rebelled, and found himself the de facto leader of a diverse array of Eurosceptics. He argued ardently that France would lose control of its own economic policy and be swallowed up by a “supranational technocracy”.
His ideas quickly gained ground: he swung many wavering Gaullists to his side, and the final “no” vote was more than 49 per cent — a reflection of French worries about the dominance of Brussels. Yet Séguin was never really himself a Eurosceptic in the British sense. He was always in favour of closer European co-operation: but he rejected federalism and wanted nations to keep their own sovereign voice — rather as de Gaulle had done with his “l’Europe des patries”.
The Maastricht battle was the high point of Séguin’s career. Later he restored links with Chirac and supported him against Edouard Balladur in the presidential campaign of 1995. He would probably then have been made prime minister, had it not been for his views on Europe, but the post went instead to Alain Juppé. Séguin then spent two years sniping from the wings against the Chirac/Juppé policies — their austerity measures to prepare for European Monetary Union, their failure to do more for employment and “social cohesion”, or for raising workers’ wages.
From 1993 to 1997 Séguin was president of the National Assembly, a post with more influence and authority than that of Speaker in the House of Commons. Then in 1997, when the Left returned to power, he was for two years chairman of an RPR confused and demoralised by its unexpected defeat. He felt that the party had lost touch with its popular roots, and he let it be known that he had his eyes on standing for the presidency in 2002. But in 1999 he suddenly resigned this RPR post: it was another policy and personality clash with Chirac, notably anger at the President for drawing France into an American-led war in Kosovo. So Séguin was back in the wilderness, his future again uncertain, but his Gaullist fervour brighter than ever.
He shared many ideas with the Socialists, but loyalty to de Gaulle’s legacy always kept him in the RPR. He was a big bear-like man with dark shaggy hair, a broad face, a bluff smile and a deep gravelly voice, the result maybe of his heavy smoking of Gitanes. He was a populist, but not a demagogue, and his manner was calm and persuasive. He spoke up for the provinces against Paris, and had little time for smooth intellectual chic: yet he was an erudite man, author of several books including a bestselling study of Napoleon III. He was always an admirer of Britain, too, envying its ability to secure an opt-out on the euro — and he had an encyclopaedic knowledge of English football.
He is survived by the four children of his two marriages and by his second wife, Béatrice, née Bernascon.
Philippe Séguin, Gaullist politician, was born on April 21, 1943. He died of a heart attack on January 7, 2010, aged 66
The Times
In his capacity as First President of the Court of Financial Auditors, France’s supreme auditing institution, Mr Séguin had been responsible since 2004 for the external oversight of world police financial affairs.
Mr Séguin's advice had enabled the organization (world police) to strengthen its governance structure, notably its financial management.
Mr Séguin addressed General Assembly meetings in Rio de Janeiro in 2006, in Marrakesh in 2007, and in St Petersburg in 2008. He also attended the organization’s exec. Committee meetings.
He died at the age of 66 on 7 January 2010 from a heart attack.
more ~
January 8, 2010
Philippe Séguin: Gaullist politician
Among the senior Gaullist politicians of his day, Philippe Séguin was the one who remained most closely inspired by de Gaulle’s own twin ideals of social reformism and patriotic support for French sovereignty. This self-styled gaulliste de gauche repeatedly urged the governments of Jacques Chirac and others to do more for the poor and unemployed. He also fought against the erosion of France’s independence: in 1992 he famously led the campaign for a “no” vote in the referendum on the Maastricht treaty, passionately opposing its provisions for a common currency. He lost, but only just.
Burly, often untidy-looking, chain-smoking and affable, Séguin cultivated an old-fashioned man-of-the-people image, and was widely respected and rather popular. He was a powerful figure in the Gaullist party, the RPR (Rassemblement pour la République), and was its chairman in 1997-99. But his maverick outspokenness and divisive views prevented him from becoming, as he wished, its unifying saviour in its time of crisis; and he was never prime minister. He was frequently in conflict with his fellow Gaullist, President Chirac.
Philippe Daniel Alain Séguin was born in Tunis into a French pied noir settler family; his father, a teacher, was then killed in France fighting the Germans. This background may partly explain Séguin’s vibrant devotion to “la France”. Intellectually gifted, he studied history at Aix-en-Provence University, then entered France’s top elitist stream, attending the powerful civil service college, École Normale d’Administration, and becoming a member of the prestigious Cour des Comptes. But he was never himself elitist, in his manner or his views.
His early career was varied. He taught at two leading universities, he had an official post in physical education and in sport (this was a lifelong passion, notably football). More important, he was on the personal staff of President Pompidou in 1972-73, then of the Prime Minister Raymond Barre in 1977-78 — and thus began to be noticed.
He entered party politics, becoming an RPR deputy for the Vosges, and mayor of its capital, Epinal. In 1986-88 he was Chirac’s Minister for Social Affairs and Employment, and within the limits of RPR policies this gave him a chance to put his “social” ideas into action: he was open-minded towards the unions, and got on easily with them.
With the RPR back in opposition, Séguin in 1989 made his first onslaught on Chirac, the party leader: with some other younger deputies, he accused the RPR hierarchy of being too rigid and right-wing. The revolt failed, but it left its mark. Then in 1992, when President Mitterrand called a referendum on ratifying the Maastricht treaty, Chirac and most of the RPR joined the “yes” camp: but Séguin again rebelled, and found himself the de facto leader of a diverse array of Eurosceptics. He argued ardently that France would lose control of its own economic policy and be swallowed up by a “supranational technocracy”.
His ideas quickly gained ground: he swung many wavering Gaullists to his side, and the final “no” vote was more than 49 per cent — a reflection of French worries about the dominance of Brussels. Yet Séguin was never really himself a Eurosceptic in the British sense. He was always in favour of closer European co-operation: but he rejected federalism and wanted nations to keep their own sovereign voice — rather as de Gaulle had done with his “l’Europe des patries”.
The Maastricht battle was the high point of Séguin’s career. Later he restored links with Chirac and supported him against Edouard Balladur in the presidential campaign of 1995. He would probably then have been made prime minister, had it not been for his views on Europe, but the post went instead to Alain Juppé. Séguin then spent two years sniping from the wings against the Chirac/Juppé policies — their austerity measures to prepare for European Monetary Union, their failure to do more for employment and “social cohesion”, or for raising workers’ wages.
From 1993 to 1997 Séguin was president of the National Assembly, a post with more influence and authority than that of Speaker in the House of Commons. Then in 1997, when the Left returned to power, he was for two years chairman of an RPR confused and demoralised by its unexpected defeat. He felt that the party had lost touch with its popular roots, and he let it be known that he had his eyes on standing for the presidency in 2002. But in 1999 he suddenly resigned this RPR post: it was another policy and personality clash with Chirac, notably anger at the President for drawing France into an American-led war in Kosovo. So Séguin was back in the wilderness, his future again uncertain, but his Gaullist fervour brighter than ever.
He shared many ideas with the Socialists, but loyalty to de Gaulle’s legacy always kept him in the RPR. He was a big bear-like man with dark shaggy hair, a broad face, a bluff smile and a deep gravelly voice, the result maybe of his heavy smoking of Gitanes. He was a populist, but not a demagogue, and his manner was calm and persuasive. He spoke up for the provinces against Paris, and had little time for smooth intellectual chic: yet he was an erudite man, author of several books including a bestselling study of Napoleon III. He was always an admirer of Britain, too, envying its ability to secure an opt-out on the euro — and he had an encyclopaedic knowledge of English football.
He is survived by the four children of his two marriages and by his second wife, Béatrice, née Bernascon.
Philippe Séguin, Gaullist politician, was born on April 21, 1943. He died of a heart attack on January 7, 2010, aged 66
The Times
