Pierre Lellouche

Pierre Lellouche (born 3 May 1951) is a French politician and a member of The Republicans party. He was Secretary of State for Foreign Trade under the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, Christine Lagarde. He was also the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly from November 2004 to 17 November 2006. He was elected deputy of Sarcelles in 1993, and retained his seat at the National Assembly until 2002. He has been director of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and a member of the Trilateral Commission.He is of Jewish origin.

Lellouche was born in Tunis, Tunisia, among the small local Jewish community. He defended a traditional view of the family during the discussions concerning the Pacte civil de solidarité (PACS), a form of civil union, during which he mentioned some “homophobic” arguments according to several observers. However, later on in 2003 he was in favour of a law introducing harsher punishments for abuses against homosexuals.

He is also a strong opponent of the solidarity tax on wealth (ISF) first voted under François Mitterrand. Now a supporter of President Nicolas Sarkozy, he is also a member of the UMP group "Les Réformateurs," counting around 80 deputies, which advocates the deep reform of the administration and the liberalization of the economy.

Lellouche was also the French negotiator concerning the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, finally implanted in Cadarache in France.

Lellouche recently called the UK Conservative Party's policy on the EU "pathetic" and a kind of political autism, claiming "They have essentially castrated your UK influence in the European parliament."

He is divorced from Anne-Laure Banon, half-sister of Tristane Banon, in the news in 2011 for opposing lawsuits by and against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, his former opponent in the 1993 legislative elections.

Governmental functions

• Secretary of State for Foreign Trade: 2010-2012
• Secretary of State for European Affairs: 2009-2010

Electoral mandates

• National Assembly of France
  • Member of the National Assembly of France for Paris (4th constituency): 1997-2009 (became secretary of State in 2009); elected in 1997; reelected in 2002, 2007
  • Member of the National Assembly of France for Val d'Oise (8th constituency): 1993-1997
• Municipal Council
  • Councillor of Paris: since 2001; reelected in 2008
  • Municipal councillor of Cannes: 1995-2001