Jean-Christophe Cambadélis

Jean-Christophe Cambadélis (born 14 August 1951) is a French politician of the Socialist Party (PS) who served as the party's First Secretary from April 2014 to June 2017.[1] He was a member of the National Assembly of France, representing the city of Paris,[2] as a member of the Socialist, Republican & Citizen.

Jean-Christophe Cambadélis
Cambadélis in 2007
12th First Secretary of the Socialist Party
In office
15 April 2014 – 18 June 2017
Preceded byHarlem Désir
Succeeded by
Member of the National Assembly
for Paris's 16th constituency
(formerly Paris's 20th constituency)
In office
12 June 1997 – 21 June 2017
Preceded byJacques Féron
Succeeded byMounir Mahjoubi
Personal details
Born (1951-08-14) 14 August 1951 (age 73)
Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Political partyOCI (1971-1981)
PCI (1981-1986)
PS (depuis 1986)
Alma materParis Diderot University

Early life and education

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Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Cambadélis is of Greek ancestry.

Political career

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Early beginnings

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Cambadélis gained clout within the Socialist Party in the 1980s when he helped former President François Mitterrand seek re-election, later growing close to former Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.[3]

Member of the National Assembly, 1997–2017

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In parliament, Cambadélis served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs (1998–2017) and the Committee on Economic Affairs (2008–2009).[4] In addition to his committee assignments, he was part of the French-Israeli Parliamentary Friendship Group.[5]

Amid the MNEF affair in 2006, Cambadélis was found guilty along with several other Socialists of having used a student mutual fund for political purposes and given a suspended jail sentence and a fine of 20 000 euros.[6]

When Martine Aubry took over as leader of the Socialist Party in 2008, Cambadélis became the party’s national spokesperson for international affairs.[7] In 2011, he endorsed Aubry as the party’s candidate for the 2012 presidential elections.[8]

Chair of the Socialist Party, 2014–2017

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In 2014, Cambadélis was elected by the Socialist Party’s national congress to replace Harlem Désir, weeks after municipal elections in which the party lost dozens of towns to the right and far-right opposition.[9]

During his time in office, Cambadélis announced the party’s first-ever two-round left-wing primary to decide on its candidate for the 2017 presidential elections, allowing challengers to incumbent President François Hollande.[10]

Citing the urgency of the fight against far-right leader Marine Le Pen, Cambadélis endorsed Emmanuel Macron ahead of the presidential elections.[11] He lost his seat in parliament in the legislative elections shortly after.[12] He subsequently resigned as the party’s chairman.[13]

Later career

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Ahead of the Socialist Party’s 2018 convention in Aubervilliers, Cambadélis publicly endorsed Olivier Faure as candidate for the party’s leadership.[14]

When the Socialist Party agreed with the hard-left La France Insoumise (LFI) to run together in the parliamentary elections in an effort to deprive re-elected President Emmanuel Macron of a majority, Cambadélis called on fellow members to block the deal, arguing it could mark the end of a pro-EU force on the left.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Cambadélis quitte la direction du PS". lepoint.fr (in French). 18 June 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  2. ^ "LISTE DÉFINITIVE DES DÉPUTÉS ÉLUS À L'ISSUE DES DEUX TOURS" (in French). National Assembly of France. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  3. ^ Brian Love (15 April 2014), French Socialists pick veteran to run party after poll rout Reuters.
  4. ^ Jean-Christophe Cambadélis National Assembly of France.
  5. ^ Jean-Christophe Cambadélis National Assembly of France.
  6. ^ Brian Love (15 April 2014), French Socialists pick veteran to run party after poll rout Reuters.
  7. ^ Nicolas Barotte (2 January 2009), Au sein de la direction du PS, Martine Aubry compte plus d'alliés que de proches Le Figaro.
  8. ^ Romain Parlier (30 June 2011), France: Moscovici Backs Hollande for Socialists New York Times.
  9. ^ Brian Love (15 April 2014), French Socialists pick veteran to run party after poll rout Reuters.
  10. ^ Nicholas Vinocur (19 June 2016), François Hollande to face left-wing primary test New York Times.
  11. ^ Pierre Briançon (1 May 2017), French Socialists fast headed for split Politico Europe.
  12. ^ Alissa J. Rubin (12 June 2017), For Macron’s Party in France, Success Is Broad. But How Deep? New York Times.
  13. ^ Alissa J. Rubin, Aurelien Breeden and Benoît Morenne (18 June 2017), Emmanuel Macron’s Party and Allies Win Big in France New York Times.
  14. ^ Pierre Lepelletier (7 March 2018), Congrès du PS : qui soutient qui ? Le Figaro.
  15. ^ Elizabeth Pineau, Michel Rose and Ingrid Melander (4 May 2022), French left agrees rare coalition deal to take on Macron Reuters.
Party political offices
Preceded by First Secretary of the Socialist Party
2014–2017
Succeeded by