Philippe Douste-Blazy
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Philippe Douste-Blazy (b. January 1, 1953) is a cardiologist and a French Christian Democrat politician from Lourdes. His current mandate is Minister of Foreign Affairs in Dominique de Villepin's government. His principal former mandates were mayor of Lourdes and mayor of Toulouse
He studied medecine in Toulouse, where he had his first job in 1976. He then worked as a cardiologist in Lourdes and Toulouse, namely in Purpan's hospital from 1986. He then joined the French Society of Cardiology. He become Professor of Medecine in Toulouse Sciences University in 1988.
He entered politics in march 1989, being elected mayor of Lourdes and then Member of the European Parliament in June of the same year. He was then a member of the European's People Party. This year was also the one of his election as national director of the association of research against elevations of cholesterol
At the end of 1993, he was designated Junior Minister for Health, after being elected Deputy in April. He stayed at this ministry until the 1995 presidential election. In march 1994, he was elected at Hautes-Pyrénées's General Concil. He became general secretary of the French former political party CDS in December.
In January 1995, after the election of Jacques Chirac as President of the French Republic, a candidature he was backing, he was designed Junior Minister of Health and Governement's spokesman. Five months later, he became Minister of Culture. In June, he was also elected Mayor of Lourdes. By the end of November, he was elected general secretary of Force Démocrate.
In June 1997, the overwhelming defeat of Conservatives during general elections made him lose his position as Minister of Culture, but he remained deputy of Hautes-Pyrénées and became president of the UDF parliamentary group at the French National Assembly.
In March 2001, he wons the seat of deputy in Haute-Garonne's first disrict. At the same time, he won the municipal elections in Toulouse, and became Mayor of the city, succeding to Dominique Baudis who was backing him. At the end of 2001, he supported the candidature of Jacques Chirac for the 2002 presidential elections and worked to create the future UMP. He was reelected in Haute-Garonne's first disrict on June 16, 2002, and became general secretary of UMP the same month.
In March 2004, he was chosen by Jean Pierre Raffarin to become Minister of Health and Social Welfare. He consequently had to resign from his seat of Mayor of Toulouse. He was succeded there by Jean-Luc Moudenc.
| Preceded by: Dominique de Villepin | Minister of Foreign Affairs 2005– | Succeeded by: Incumbent |