Michel Barnier

Michel Barnier
Barnier in 2019
Prime Minister of France
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 September 2024
President	Emmanuel Macron
Preceded by	Gabriel Attal
EU political offices Head of the UK Task Force In office 16 November 2019 – 31 March 2021 President Jean-Claude Juncker Ursula von der Leyen Deputy Clara Martínez Alberola Preceded by Position established Succeeded by João Vale de Almeida (as Ambassador to the United Kingdom) Chief Negotiator of Task Force 50 In office 1 October 2016 – 15 November 2019 President Jean-Claude Juncker Deputy Sabine Weyand Preceded by Position established Succeeded by Position abolished European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services In office 10 February 2010 – 31 October 2014 President José Manuel Barroso Preceded by Charlie McCreevy Succeeded by Elżbieta Bieńkowska European Commissioner for Regional Policy In office 16 September 1999 – 31 March 2004 President Romano Prodi Preceded by Monika Wulf-Mathies Succeeded by Jacques Barrot Member of the European Parliament for Île-de-France In office 14 July 2009 – 10 February 2010 Succeeded by Constance Le Grip
French political offices Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries In office 19 June 2007 – 22 June 2009 Prime Minister François Fillon Preceded by Christine Lagarde Succeeded by Bruno Le Maire Minister of Foreign Affairs In office 31 March 2004 – 31 May 2005 Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin Preceded by Dominique de Villepin Succeeded by Philippe Douste-Blazy Minister Delegate for European Affairs In office 18 May 1995 – 3 June 1997 Prime Minister Alain Juppé Preceded by Alain Lamassoure Succeeded by Pierre Moscovici Minister of the Environment In office 29 March 1993 – 18 March 1995 Prime Minister Édouard Balladur Preceded by Ségolène Royal Succeeded by Corinne Lepage Senator for Savoie In office 22 September 1997 – 23 September 1999 In office 2 October 1995 – 31 October 1995 Member of the National Assembly for Savoie In office 3 April 1978 – 1 May 1993 Preceded by Maurice Blanc Succeeded by Hervé Gaymard Constituency 2nd (1978–1986) At-large (1986–1988) 2nd (1988–1993) President of the General Council of Savoie In office 14 March 1982 – 13 September 1999 Preceded by Louis Besson Succeeded by Hervé Gaymard General councillor of Savoie for the canton of Bourg-Saint-Maurice In office 5 September 1973 – 13 September 1999 Preceded by Alexis Borrel Succeeded by Jacqueline Poletti
Personal details
Born	Michel Jean Barnier (1951-01-09) 9 January 1951 (age 73) La Tronche, France
Political party	LR (2015–present)
Other political affiliations	UDR (1967–1976) RPR (1976–2002) UMP (2002–2015)
Spouse	Isabelle Altmayer ​ (m. 1982)​
Children	3
Relatives	Éric and Nicolas Altmayer (brothers-in-law) René Altmayer (grandfather-in-law) Victor Joseph Altmayer (great-grandfather-in-law)
Residence(s)	Hôtel Matignon, Paris
Alma mater	ESCP Business School
Occupation	Diplomat • Politician
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Michel Jean Barnier (French: [miʃɛl ʒɑ̃ baʁnje] ^ⓘ; born 9 January 1951) is a French politician serving as Prime Minister of France since September 2024.

A member of a series of Gaullist parties (UDR, RPR, UMP, LR), Barnier has served in several French cabinet positions, including as Minister of the Environment from 1993 to 1995, Minister Delegate for European Affairs from 1995 to 1997, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2005, and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries from 2007 to 2009. At EU level, Barnier was European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services from 2010 to 2014 and vice president of the European People's Party (EPP) from 2010 to 2015. From October 2016 to 2021, he was the EU's chief negotiator on Britain's exit from the European Union.

In August 2021, Barnier announced that he was standing for his party's nomination for President of France in the 2022 presidential election, but later failed to win sufficient support at the 2021 The Republicans congress, placing third. In September 2024, Barnier was appointed as Prime Minister by President Emmanuel Macron following the 2024 snap legislative election.

Following his appointment, the BBC described Barnier as "a committed, patriotic conservative in the tradition of Charles de Gaulle".^[1] He is regarded as pro-European with neoliberal economic views. He has advocated for stricter controls on non-European immigration, expanding prison capacity and the introduction of mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes. As a deputy in the National Assembly in the 1980s, he voted for the abolition of capital punishment and against reducing the age of consent for same-sex relationships to that of mixed-sex couples.