Jean-Pierre Raffarin

Born in 1948 in Poitiers, Jean-Pierre Raffarin graduated from l’École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris, served as a senior lecturer at the Institut d’Études politiques in Paris, and he has been a senior lecturer at ESCP Europe since 2007. From 1988 to 2002, he was President of the Regional Council of Poitou-Charentes and presided over the Association of the French Regions. Meanwhile, he was also a member and quaestor of the European Parliament. From 1995 to 1997, he was appointed minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Commerce, and Craft. Appointed by Jacques Chirac, he was French Prime Minister from May 2002 to May 2005. An elected Senator of Vienne from 1995 to 2017, he also occupied the position of Vive-President of the Senate from March 2011 to September 2014. From October 2014 to July 2017, he was President of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces Committee of the Senate. Since January 2018, he has been the Special Representative of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs for China. The foundation he leads, Leaders for Peace, aims to raise awareness among leaders and shape public opinion on the risks of regional and global armed conflicts.