Gérard Montassier (5 June 1937 – 19 April 2021) was an Algerian-born French essayist and government official.[1]

Gérard Montassier
Born5 June 1937
Died19 April 2021(2021-04-19) (aged 83)
NationalityFrench
Occupation(s)Essayist
Government Official

Biography

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Born in modern-day Annaba, Algeria in 1937,[2] Montassier earned a degree from Sciences Po in 1960[3] and an agrégation in classical literature from the École nationale d'administration (ENA) in 1967.

Montassier first became a teacher at the Lycée de Saint-Quentin before becoming a secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He then became Secretary General of the Fonds d'intervention culturel[4] and worked for the Ministry of Culture under Jacques Duhamel and Michel Guy [fr].[5] He was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary of the Ministry in 1990.

Montassier was a member of the Union for French Democracy (UDF) and led its division in Charente from 1977 to 1981. He divorced and subsequently remarried Valérie-Anne Giscard d'Estaing [fr], who he met at the Ministry of Culture.[6] In 1979, he ran in the Canton of Segonzac [fr] for the UDF, but was unsuccessful.[7] In 1981, his candidacy for the National Assembly was invalidated due to late registration.[8] A pro-European, he founded the Fondation internationale pour une histoire de la civilisation européenne and became its president in 1994.[9] In 2013, he founded the Confrérie du cognac.[10]

Gérard Montassier died on 19 April 2021 at the age of 83.

Books

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  • Le Fait culturel (1980)
  • Le 14 juillet 1989 (1982)
  • Les Premiers Feux du plaisir : roman (1989)
  • Les Nouveaux Conquérants : la France réconciliée (1989)
  • L'Europe, cette inconnue (2007)
  • Mazarin : l'étranger qui a fait la France (2015)

References

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  1. ^ "L'ancien diplomate et essayiste charentais Gérard Montassier est décédé à 83 ans". Charente Libre (in French). 24 April 2021.
  2. ^ Sementéry, Michel; Manach, Daniel (1997). La Descendance de Charles X, roi de France (in French). Paris: Christian. ISBN 2-86496-068-0.
  3. ^ "Gérard Montassier". Sciences Po Alumni.
  4. ^ "M. MONTASSIER directeur du cabinet du secrétaire d'État à la culture". Le Monde (in French). 18 June 1974.
  5. ^ "Gérard Montassier". Cercle K-2 (in French).
  6. ^ "Valérie-Anne : la cuisinière". Les Dossiers du Canard (in French). April 1981.
  7. ^ "Gérard Montassier ou le gendre en campagne". Le Monde (in French). 16 November 1980.
  8. ^ "EN CHARENTE La candidature de M. Montassier est irrecevable". Le Monde (in French). 6 June 1981.
  9. ^ "L'Europe au coeur, plus Touzac". Charente Libre (in French). 4 May 2017.
  10. ^ C, S. (23 October 2013). "Les gardiens du cognac". Sud Ouest (in French).