Claude Guéant

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Claude Guéant (born 17 January 1945) is a French civil servant, general secretary of the French President Nicolas Sarkozy since 16 May 2007 — an office similar to that of the chief of staff. He is a member of the conservative Union for a Popular Movement (UMP).

[edit] Biography

Claude Guéant was born in Vimy. He studied law in Paris at the faculty. He then entered Sciences-Po and then the ENA administration school (Thomas More promotion of 1971). After graduating from the ENA, he became chief of staff of the prefect of the Finistère department, and then, in 1974, general secretary of Guadeloupe for economic affairs. In 1977, he entered the Ministry of Interior as a technical counsellor of Christian Bonnet, an office which he held until François Mitterrand's election in 1981.

Nominated sub-prefect (sous-préfet hors-classe), he then worked alongside the prefect of the region Centre. Guéant then became general secretary of the prefecture of the Hérault department and then of the Hauts-de-Seine. In 1991, he was nominated prefect of the Hautes-Alpes department.

During the second cohabitation (Edouard Balladur's government), he was named deputy-director of Charles Pasqua's cabinet, who was at the time the Minister of Interior. In 1994, he was named general director of the national police.

Under Jacques Chirac's presidency, he was named in 1998 prefect of the Franche-Comté region and of the Doubs department, before being named prefect of the Brittany region and of the Ille-et-Vilaine department in 2000.

From 2002 to 2004, he was Nicolas Sarkozy's chief of staff (directeur de cabinet), and then again in 2004 when Sarkozy was Minister of Finances, and again from June 2005 to March 2007 when Sarkozy was Minister of Interior. During the 2007 presidential campaign, he was charged of Sarkozy's campaign.

Once elected, Sarkozy named him on 16 May 2007 general secretary of the Elysée.

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