Brune Poirson (born 1 September 1982) is a French politician of La République En Marche! (LREM) who served as Secretary of State to the Minister of Ecological and Solidary Transition in the government of Prime Minister Édouard Philippe from 2017 until 2020.

Brune Poirson
Poirson in 2017
Secretary of State for
Ecological and Solidary Transition
In office
21 June 2017 – 3 July 2020
Prime MinisterÉdouard Philippe
Member of the National Assembly
for Vaucluse's 3rd constituency
In office
4 August 2020 – 5 April 2021
Preceded byAdrien Morenas
Succeeded byAdrien Morenas
In office
21 June 2017 – 21 July 2017
Preceded byMarion Maréchal
Succeeded byAdrien Morenas
Personal details
Born (1982-09-01) 1 September 1982 (age 42)
Washington, DC, US
NationalityFrench
American
Political partyLa République En Marche!
Alma materSciences Po Aix
London School of Economics
John F. Kennedy School of Government

Early life and education

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Born in Washington, DC, Poirson's mother was a paintings conservator and restorer and her father a computer consultant for the World Bank. She grew up with her two little brothers in Apt in Vaucluse, where she did part of her schooling from nursery school, in the public schools.[1] She attended lycée in Marseille.

Poirson studied at Sciences Po Aix in Aix-en-Provence, London School of Economics and Harvard Kennedy School of Government.[2]

Professional career

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Poirson's professional career began in London, where she was a legislative assistant to a Labour Member of Parliament[3] and researcher at Nesta for about two years.

In London Poirson met Sam Pitroda, then minister of the government of Manmohan Singh in India. She joined his cabinet in New Delhi in 2009.[4] After that, she started working for the French Development Agency, where she coordinated projects for sustainable urban development and biodiversity conservation.

In 2012, Poirson and her partner created the CITRIX sustainable urban development working group, of which Hubert Védrine, Brice Lalonde and Sam Pitroda are stakeholders.[5]

Poirson was then recruited by Veolia as director of sustainable development and social responsibility of one of its subsidiaries, Veolia Water India, in New Delhi. In this role, she worked on drinking water distribution projects in the slums of large Indian megacities, particularly in Karnataka and Nagpur.[4] Poirson then continued her career in the United States, in Boston, until 2016, where she worked in a green technology incubator.

Poirson is a member of the 2017 promotion of the "Young Leaders" programme of the France China Foundation.[6]

Political career

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Member of the National Assembly

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Poirson returned to France in 2016 to engage in Emmanuel Macron's newly-launched political movement, En Marche! (later renamed La République En Marche!).

In the 2017 legislative election, she was one of two members of La République En Marche! elected to the National Assembly in the Vaucluse department alongside Jean-François Cesarini in the 1st constituency. She won the 3rd constituency seat on 18 June 2017 with a thin majority of 421 votes against National Front (FN) candidate Hervé de Lépinau, who would eventually go on to win the seat in the 2022 election.[7] Outgoing FN representative Marion Maréchal had declined to run for a second term in office.

Member of the Government

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Brune Poirson and Estonian Minister of the Environment Siim Valmar Kiisler in 2017

On 21 June 2017 Poirson was appointed Secretary of State to the Minister of State, Minister of Ecological and Solidary Transition, former environmental activist and television host Nicolas Hulot, in the second government of Édouard Philippe. She left her seat as a member of the National Assembly to her substitute Adrien Morenas.[8]

Upon taking office, Hulot announced that Poirson would be in charge of policies related to the sea, biodiversity and the ocean; he would also delegate her the questions discussed at a European level. She attended the vast majority of the Councils of Energy and Environment Ministers, covering topics as diverse as the circular economy, the reform of the European electricity market, the governance of Energy union and climate, as well as the carbon emission trading.

On 14 March 2020, Poirson was the second French government official to test positive for COVID-19.[9] She left the executive on 3 July 2020, at the end of the second Philippe government. She subsequently returned to the National Assembly until her resignation in 2021.

Career after politics

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In 2021, Poirson was appointed advisor on sustainable development to Accor CEO Sébastien Bazin.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Annie Vergnenegre (22 June 2017). "Who is Brune Poirson, a 34-year-old Vauclusienne, a novice in politics, who enters the government?" (in French). France 3. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  2. ^ "Brune Poirson (CV officiel)". French gouv. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
  3. ^ Isabelle Lassalle & Philippe Paupert (18 June 2017). "Legislative: who is Brune Poirson, new MEP LREM of the 3rd constituency of Vaucluse?" (in French). France Bleu. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  4. ^ a b Quentin Girard (17 June 2018). "Legislative: Brune Poirson, the taste of hatching" (in French). Libération. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  5. ^ Erwan Bruckert (9 March 2018). "Legislative: Brune Poirson,ecology without ideology" (in French). Le Point. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  6. ^ "THE 2017 YOUNG LEADERS WITH FRENCH PRIME MINISTER EDOUARD PHILIPPE". France China Foundation. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  7. ^ "2017 legislative results: Brune Poirson (LREM) wins at Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, the FN beaten on the wire" (in French). 20 Minutes. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Brune Poirson Appointed Secretary of State for Ecological Transition" (in French). Le Figaro. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Coronavirus : la secrétaire d'Etat Brune Poirson testée positive" (in French). 14 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  10. ^ Brune Poirson rejoint Accor comme directrice du développement durable Le Figaro, 15 April 2021.