Joël Giraud
Joël Giraud (French pronunciation: [ʒɔɛl ʒiʁo]; born 14 October 1959) is a French politician who briefly served as Minister of Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local Authorities under Prime Minister Jean Castex in 2022. A member of both Renaissance (RE) and the Radical Movement (MR), he previously represented the 2nd constituency of the Hautes-Alpes department in the National Assembly from 2002 to 2020 and served as Secretary of State for Rurality from 2020 until 2022.[1] Political careerCareer in local politicsAn alumnus of the École nationale d'administration, Giraud first entered the municipal council of L'Argentière-la-Bessée in 1986. He held the mayorship of L'Argentière-la-Bessée from 1989 to 2017, as well as one of the vice presidencies of the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur under President Michel Vauzelle from 2004 to 2014. Career in national politicsElected to Parliament in Hautes-Alpes's 2nd constituency in 2002, he was reelected in 2007, 2012 and 2017. He is a former Secretary of the Economic Affairs Committee.[2] He was a member of the Radical Party of the Left until 2017, when it was merged with the Radical Party into Radical Movement, which Giraud joined. He has also been a member of Renaissance since 2016. In addition to his committee assignments, Giraud has been a member of the French delegation to the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly from 2019 to 2020 and again since 2022.[3] He also chaired the French-Italian Parliamentary Friendship Group from 2012 to 2017. Giraud was appointed to the Castex government in 2020 as Secretary of State for Rurality under Minister Jacqueline Gourault.[4] Upon her appointment to the Constitutional Council in 2022, he succeeded her as Minister of Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local Authorities.[5] Following the 2022 legislative election, Giraud stood as a candidate for the National Assembly's presidency;[6] in an internal vote, he lost against Yaël Braun-Pivet.[7] On June 9, 2024, Joël Giraud announced that he was stopping his political career after the announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly. Joël Giraud denounces a potential government of cohabitation “between the president and the extreme right”.[8] Personal lifeGiraud is openly gay.[9] See alsoReferences
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