Quick Facts
Biography
Nathalie Geneviève Marie Kosciusko-Morizet (French pronunciation: [nataˈli kosjysˈko moʁiˈzɛ]) (born 14 May 1973 in the 15th arrondissement of Paris), often referred to by her initials NKM, is a French politician and the current deputy of the 4th electoral constituency of Essonne. She was mayor of Longjumeau from 2008-2013 and was an unsuccessful mayoral candidate for Paris in the local elections in 2014.
She has previously held the positions of Regional Councillor for Île-de-France; Secretary of State for Ecology; and Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing. She was also Assistant General Secretary of the UMP and spokesperson to Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2012 presidential election. Since standing for the Paris mayoralty in March 2014, she has been leader of the opposition of the Council of Paris. From December 2014 to December 2015 she was Vice President of the UMP (renamed The Republicans).
Early life
Kosciusko-Morizet was born on 14 May 1973. She comes from a political family, the Kosciusko-Morizets. Her grandfather, Jacques Kosciusko (1913–1994) was an academic, a member of the French Resistance during the war, a Gaullist politician and former French ambassador in the US whose father-in-law, André Morizet, was a socialist senator and mayor of Boulogne-Billancourt. Her father François Kosciusko-Morizet (1940–2015) was the mayor of Sèvres. She is also the sister of Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet (b. 1977), one of the founders of Priceminister.com, the third ranked e-commerce site in France. According to genealogists, she is also related to Lucrezia Borgia from her mother's side, the Treuille family.
She graduated from the École Polytechnique and the Collège des Ingénieurs.
Career
Local elections
As a twenty-nine-year-old, she was elected a member of the French National Assembly in 2002, representing the department of Essonne, to the south of Paris, serving out the term for Pierre-André Wiltzer who was appointed deputy minister. She was reelected in 2007 and 2012.
She was elected mayor of Longjumeau (Essonne) in March 2008.
Member of cabinets
In 2007, she became a state secretary in the French government responsible for the environment. Then in 2009 she became state secretary with responsibility for Forward Planning, Assessment of Public Policies and Development of the Digital Economy, before being appointed Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing in November 2010.
In 2012, she left her position as minister to become spokesperson for Nicolas Sarkozy during his presidential reelection campaign.
Municipal candidacy for Paris
In February 2013, she announced she would be a candidate for the Mayor of Paris in the 2014 local elections. She faced among others Rachida Dati in the UMP primary election. The polls had Kosciusko-Morizet as a favourite to win the primary. She was endorsed by François Fillon.
On June 3, 2013 she won UMP's primaries for the office of Mayor of Paris with 58.16% of the vote.
In the Mayoral elections held on March 23 and March 30, 2014, Kosciusko-Morizet's UMP lists were defeated by the lists led by Socialist Deputy Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who was elected Mayor of Paris on April 4, 2015. The Socialist, Green and Communist parties created a coalition with 91 councillors, while the UMP and UDI-Modem parties were relegated to the opposition with 71 councillors.
Candidacy for The Republicans primary
After Nicolas Sarkozy's return in politics in 2014, she has been appointed vice-president of the UMP (since 2015 The Republicans) to represent the moderate fringe of the party, while her rival Laurent Wauquiez represented the hardline part. After the 2015 regional elections, during which Wauquiez successfully ran in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, she has been ousted by Sarkozy after criticizing his strategy and was replaced by Wauquiez.
Then, she announced her candidacy for the primary. Despite some difficulties, she got the sufficient number of supports to run. She finished fourth with only 2.6% of the vote, far behind Nicolas Sarkozy (20.1%). She endorsed Alain Juppé for the second round.
Political positions
Although close to Jacques Chirac throughout his presidency, she is a strong advocate of green issues, and can be described as a part of the "blue ecologists" group. In an interview to the Daily Telegraph in March 2013, she said she held "a lot of admiration" for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Personal life
She is married to Jean-Pierre Philippe and has two sons, born in 2005 and 2009. In March 2016, she announced that she and JP Philippe have divorced from a common agreement.
Political held offices
Governmental functions
Secretary of State for Ecology : 2007–2009.
Secretary of State and Prospective Development of the Digital Economy : 2009–2010.
Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing: November 2010 – February 2012 (She resigned from government to become spokeswoman of Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign).
Electoral mandates
National Assembly of France
Member of the National Assembly of France for Essonne (4th constituency) : 2002–2007 (Became secretary of State in 2007). Elected in 2002, reelected in 2007.
Regional Council
Regional councillor of Ile-de-France : 2004–2010 (She resigned in November 2010). Reelected in 2010.
Municipal Council
Mayor of Longjumeau : Since 2008.
Municipal councillor of Longjumeau : Since 2008.
Agglomeration Community Council
Vice-president of the Europ'Essonne Agglomeration Community Council : Since 2008.
Member of the Europ'Essonne Agglomeration Community Council : Since 2008.