Édouard Balladur (born May 2, 1929) is a French politician.
Édouard Balladur was born in Izmir, Turkey. Parents of Édouard Balladur emigrated to Marseille in 1935 together with their 5 children. He is a member of Parliament from the 15th arrondissement of Paris, a conservative stronghold.
He served as Prime Minister of France from 1993 to 1995, and had previously been Jacques Chirac's Finance Minister from 1986 to 1988.
He ran unsuccessfully for president against fellow Gaullist Chirac and Socialist Lionel Jospin in 1995. Despite Chirac and himself declaring they had been "friends for 30 years", the episode greatly strained their relationship. The Balladuriens, i.e. Balladur's followers, such as Nicolas Sarkozy, were ostracized from the new Chirac administration.
From 1968 to 1980, he was president of the French company of the Mont Blanc Tunnel, while occupying various other positions in ministerial staff. Following the 1999 deadly accident in the tunnel, he was heard in 2005 by the court judging the case, about the security measures he had or had not taken. Balladur claimed that he always paid attention to security, but that it was difficult to agree on anything with the Italian company operating the Italian part of the tunnel.
Édouard Balladur is often caricatured as aloof, aristocratic and pretentious in media such as the Canard Enchaîné or shows such as Les Guignols de l'Info.
Balladur's Ministry
- Édouard Balladur – Prime Minister
- Alain Juppé – Minister of Foreign Affairs
- François Léotard – Minister of Defense
- Charles Pasqua – Minister of the Interior and Regional Planning
- Edmond Alphandéry – Minister of Economy
- Nicolas Sarkozy – Minister of Budget
- Gérard Longuet – Minister of Industry, External Commerce, Posts, and Telecommunications
- Michel Giraud – Minister of Labour, Employment, and Vocational Training
- Pierre Méhaignerie – Minister of Justice
- François Bayrou – Minister of National Education
- Philippe Mestre – Minister of Veterans and War Victims
- Jacques Toubon – Minister of Culture and Francophonie
- Jean Puech – Minister of Agriculture and Fish
- Michèle Alliot-Marie – Minister of Youth and Sports
- Dominique Perben – Minister of Overseas Departments and Territories
- Bernard Bosson – Minister of Transport, Tourism, and Equipment
- Simone Veil – Minister of Social Affairs, Health, and City
- Michel Roussin – Minister of Cooperation
- Hervé de Charette – Minister of Housing
- Alain Carignon – Minister of Communication
- André Rossinot – Minister of Civil Service
- Alain Madelin – Minister of Companies and Economic Development
- François Fillon – Minister of Higher Education and Research
Changes
- 19 July 1994 – Minister of Communication Alain Carignon leaves the ministry. His office is abolished.
- 17 October 1994 – José Rossi succeeds Longuet as Minister of Industry, External Commerce, Posts, and Telecommunications.
- 12 November 1994 – Bernard Debré succeeds Roussin as Minister of Cooperation
 | This article about a French politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |