François Fillon

Prime Minister of France
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 May 2007
President Nicolas Sarkozy

Preceded by Dominique de Villepin

Minister of National Education
In office 31 March 2004 – 2 June 2005
Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin
Dominique de Villepin

Preceded by Luc Ferry

Succeeded by Gilles de Robien

Minister of Social Affairs
In office 7 May 2002 – 31 March 2004

Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin

Preceded by Élisabeth Guigou

Succeeded by Jean-Louis Borloo

Born 4 March 1954 (age 55) Le Mans, France

Political party Union for a Popular Movement

Spouse(s) Penelope Clarke Profession Lawyer

Religion Roman Catholicism

François Fillon (French pronunciation: born 4 March 1954 in Le Mans, Sarthe) is the current Prime Minister of France, having been appointed to that office by President Nicolas Sarkozy on 17 May 2007.[1][2]
As a member of the UMP party, Fillon became Jean-Pierre Raffarin’s Minister of Labour in 2002 and undertook controversial reforms of the 35-hour working week law and of the French retirement system (Loi Fillon). He became Minister of Education and Research in 2004 and proposed the much debated Fillon law on Education. In 2005, he was not included in the new government headed by Dominique de Villepin, but was elected senator for the Sarthe département. His role as a political advisor in Nicolas Sarkozy’s successful race for president led to his current role.

Early life

The Fillon family has its roots in the Sarthe area.
François Fillon’s father is a civil law notary, while his mother, Anne Fillon, is a celebrated historian and his youngest brother, Dominique, is a talented pianist.[3]
Fillon lives with his wife, Penelope, and five children, Marie, Charles, Antoine, Édouard and Arnaud, in the 12th century Château de Beaucé, set in 20 acres (8 ha) of woodland on the banks of the River Sarthe at the famous monastery village of Solesmes, near Sablé-sur-Sarthe about halfway between Le Mans and Angers. M. and Mme Fillon resided in various other properties, always in the Sarthe, throughout their marriage, before buying Beaucé in 1993.[3]