Sarah El Haïry

Sarah El Haïry
Official portrait, 2023
Minister Delegate for Youth, Childhood, and Family
In office 8 February 2024 – 21 September 2024
Prime Minister	Gabriel Attal
Preceded by	Charlotte Caubel (Childhood) Prisca Thevenot (Youth) Aurore Bergé (Family)
Succeeded by	Gil Avérous (Youth) Agnès Canayer (Family and Childhood)
Secretary of State for Biodiversity
In office 20 July 2023 – 11 January 2024
Prime Minister	Élisabeth Borne
Preceded by	Bérangère Couillard (Ecology)
Succeeded by	Hervé Berville
Secretary of State for Youth and the National Universal Service
In office 4 July 2022 – 20 July 2023
Prime Minister	Élisabeth Borne
Preceded by	Herself
Succeeded by	Prisca Thevenot
In office 27 July 2020 – 20 May 2022
Prime Minister	Jean Castex
Preceded by	Gabriel Attal
Succeeded by	Herself
Member of the National Assembly for Loire-Atlantique's 5th constituency
In office 22 June 2022 – 4 August 2022
Preceded by	Luc Geismar
Succeeded by	Luc Geismar
In office 21 June 2017 – 26 August 2020
Preceded by	Michel Ménard
Succeeded by	Luc Geismar
Member of the Municipal council of Nantes
Incumbent
Assumed office 3 July 2020
Mayor	Johanna Rolland
Personal details
Born	(1989-03-16) 16 March 1989 (age 35) Romorantin-Lanthenay, France
Political party	Democratic Movement (since 2010)
Other political affiliations	Union for a Popular Movement (until 2010)
Children	1
Education	Nantes University
Profession	Sales Executive

Sarah El Haïry (born 16 March 1989) is a French politician of the Democratic Movement (MoDem). She most recently served as Minister Delegate for Youth, Childhood, and Family in the Attal government in 2024. Previously, she was Secretary of State for Biodiversity from 2023 to 2024 in the Borne government.[1]

El Haïry has also held the position of Secretary of State for Youth and the National Universal Service in two separate terms: first in the Castex government from 2020 to 2022, and then in the Borne government from 2022 to 2023.[2][3] A former member of the National Assembly, she represented Loire-Atlantique's 5th constituency from 2017 to 2020 and briefly again in 2022.[4]

Early life and education

Born to Franco-Moroccan parents,[5] El Haïry attended school in Metz and graduated from Lycée Lyautey high school in Casablanca in Morocco.[6]

El Haïry studied law in Nantes and stayed in Canada before becoming a trader in a cooperative.[7]

Political career

Initially active within the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), El Haïry left the party and joined Democratic Movement (MoDem) in 2010.[8]

In parliament, El Haïry served as member of the Finance Committee from 2017 until 2020 and on the Committee on Legal Affairs from 2018 until 2019. In this capacity, she was the parliament's rapporteur on a 2018 bill aimed at improving the financial situation of associations and authored a 2019 report on philanthropy in France.[9] In addition to her committee assignments, she was part of the French-Cypriot Parliamentary Friendship Group.[10]

Since February 2018, El Haïry has been serving as MoDem's spokesperson, alongside Jean-Noël Barrot.[11]

In July 2020, El Haïry was appointed Secretary of State for the Youth to the Minister of National Education, Youth and Sports Jean-Michel Blanquer.[12]

Political positions

El Haïry opposed the Aéroport du Grand Ouest project.[13]

Personal life

In April 2023, El Haïry outed herself in an interview as a lesbian woman, making her the first cabinet member in French history to do so.[14]

References

1. Ambre Xerri (20 July 2023), Remaniement : la députée Renaissance Prisca Thévenot remplace Sarah El Haïry à la Jeunesse Le Figaro.
2. Peter O’Brien (4 July 2022), Macron braces for tough second term with Cabinet reshuffle Politico Europe.
3. Ambre Xerri (20 July 2023), Remaniement : la députée Renaissance Prisca Thévenot remplace Sarah El Haïry à la Jeunesse Le Figaro.
4. "Loire-Atlantique - 5e circonscription : Résultats des législatives". 9 July 2024.
5. Guillaume Descours (20 June 2017), La diversité progresse à l'Assemblée nationale Le Figaro.
6. Anne Patinec (June 20, 2017), Loire Atlantique : la députée Sarah El Haïry découvre le Palais Bourbon France Bleu.
7. "Sarah El hairy - Présidente du MoDem 44 / Déléguée Régionale UP Fundation - Les Fameuses - Elles donnent des ailes à l'Ouest". lesfameuses.com. Archived from the original on 25 September 2016.
8. L’Elysée nomme onze secrétaires d’Etat pour compléter le gouvernement Le Monde, July 26, 2020.
9. L’Elysée nomme onze secrétaires d’Etat pour compléter le gouvernement Le Monde, July 26, 2020.
10. Sarah El Haïry French National Assembly.
11. Antoine Denéchère (February 28, 2018), La députée de Loire-Atlantique Sarah El Haïry prend du galon et devient porte-parole du Modem France Bleu.
12. Qui sont les 11 secrétaires d'Etat du gouvernement Castex ? France Info, July 26, 2020.
13. Rémi Barroux (January 6, 2018), Notre-Dame-des-Landes : le premier ministre veut déminer le dossier auprès des élus locaux Le Monde.
14. Queer.de: Sarah El Haïry outet sich als erste Frau im französischen Kabinett (in German), April 2023