Thierry Mariani

Thierry Mariani (born 8 August 1958) is a French politician. He was Secretary of State for Transport for the Minister of Ecology, Sustainable development, Transport and Housing in the François Fillon III government (November 2010 – May 2012), and a member of The Republicans,[1] until joining the National Rally's list for the European election in January 2019.[2]

Thierry Mariani
Member of the European Parliament
Assumed office
2 June 2019
ConstituencyFrance
Member of the National Assembly
for the Eleventh constituency for French residents overseas
In office
2012–2017
Preceded byNone
Succeeded byAnne Genetet
Personal details
Born (1958-08-08) 8 August 1958
Orange, France
NationalityFrench
Political partyNational Rally (since 2019)
Other political
affiliations		Republican (2015 to 2019
UMP (2002 to 2015)
RPR (1976 to 2002)
UDR (1976)

Early life and education

Thierry Mariani was born on 8 August 1958 in Orange.[1] His family is of Italian origin, from Castellafiume.[3] He went to school in Avignon, then Aix-en-Provence, and he attended university in Paris.[4]

Political career

Mariani started a career in politics in 1976, alongside Nicolas Sarkozy.[4] He was the mayor of Valréas, the city where he grew up, from 1989 to 2005.[5][6][7] He also served as Vice-President of the general council of the Vaucluse for 13 years.[4] He is a member of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and an observer of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.[1] Since 2009, he has served as a French Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan during the Kabul elections.[5][8]

In April 2011, the Union for a Popular Movement selected Mariani as its candidate in the newly created Eleventh constituency for French residents overseas (covering French citizens resident in most of Asia, the whole of Oceania, and part of Eastern Europe) for the June 2012 legislative elections.[9]

Ahead of the 2017 presidential elections, Mariani endorsed former Prime Minister François Fillon's presidential bid.[10]

From 2012 to 2017, Mariani has been a member of the French delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. In this capacity, he serves as head of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons;[11] as member of the Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee); and as member of the Sub-Committee on Crime Problems and the Fight against Terrorism. In 2017, he served as the Assembly's rapporteur on Poland.[12]

Therry Mariani is a member of Azerbaijan's Friends Association, which, according to Le Monde, is the main tool of the caviar diplomacy used by the authoritarian state of Azerbaijan especially in France.[13][14] As a PACE member, he is known as one of the key actors of caviar diplomacy and an apologist of the Aliyev regime. The PACE investigation report mentions Mariani as was one of the MPs who were continuously closing eyes on serious human rights violations in Azerbaijan and were backing the Azerbaijani authorities in PACE. Mariani figures prominently as a friend of the Aliyev regime in the French documentary series by France 2, called Cash Investigation: Mon président est en voyage d’affaires. Mariani has personal relations with the Aliyev family, he has repeatedly spoken alongside Mehriban Aliyeva, Azerbaijan’s First Lady, at several Azerbaijani-organized events in France.[15] Mariani is the Chairman of the NGO "L'Eurasie - les nouveaux horizons", a member-organization of "European Academy for Election Observation", an election observation NGO founded by Azerbaijan apologists Stef Goris and Alain Destexhe, which was proven to promote Azerbaijani interests in Europe.[16] In 2010, the NGO  "L'Eurasie - les nouveaux horizons" co-organized an event with an NGO led by Elkhan Suleymanov. Suleymanov is an Azerbaijani MP who was in the core of the lobbying scandals in PACE. He was also one of the key persons of the Azerbaijani Laundromat.[17]

Overview

Governmental functions Member of the French Government: Secretary of State for Transports: 2010-2011, Minister of Transports: 2011-2012

Electoral mandates

National Assembly of France Member of the National Assembly of France for Vaucluse (4th constituency): 1993–2010 (became secretary of State in 2010). Elected in 1993, re-elected in 1997, 2002, 2007.

Member of the National Assembly of France for the Eleventh constituency for French residents overseas: 2012–present

Regional Council Regional councillor of Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur: 1992–1993 (resignation) / since 2004. Re-elected in 2004, 2010.

General Council Vice-president of the General Council of Vaucluse: 1992–2001. Re-elected in 1994, 1998.

General councillor of Vaucluse: 1988–2001. Re-elected in 1994.

Municipal Council Mayor of Valréas: 1989–2005 (Resignation). Re-elected in 1995, 2001.

Municipal councillor of Valréas: 1989–2005 (Resignation). Re-elected in 1995, 2001.

Political positions

In July 2015, Mariani accompanied by Russian officials made a trip to Crimean peninsula which was annexed by Russia in 2014. In interviews and meetings he expressed support. "We welcome the courage of the Crimean Parliament because it was able to make this decision despite the difficult situation and a great risk of escalation". In 2016, he brought non-binding resolutions to the National Assembly and Senate calling on the European Union to lift economic sanctions against Russia.[10] The resolutions, which had symbolic value, were adopted by both chambers in April and June, respectively.

In 2015, Mariani prepared the Council of Europe’s report on Chinese migration to Europe, in which he raised "human rights concerns with regard to trafficking and smuggling rings, the lack of legal protection, and the poor work conditions these immigrants often face". He has also not supported Taiwan's claim of being the true Republic of China (1912–49), the East Turkestan independence movement, or the Tibetan independence movement.[18]

References
  1. "French MPs' Crimea visit condemned by France and Ukraine", BBC News, 23 July 2015]
  2. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/ex-sarkozy-minister-jumps-conservative-ship-to-join-french-far-right-11103410
  3. Nivelle, Pascale. "Le voyeur de Bagdad". liberation.fr. Libération. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  4. Official website
  5. 20 Minutes
  6. La Provence
  7. Le Monde
  9. "Législatives : l'UMP a désigné ses candidats pour l'étranger", Le Figaro, 13 April 2011
  10. Nicholas Vinocur (13 July 2016), West ‘provoked’ Russia, says former French PM François Fillon Politico Europe.
  11. Tara Palmeri (22 April 2015), Refugee crisis pits Europe’s north vs south Politico Europe.
  12. The functioning of democratic institutions in Poland: visit by co-rapporteurs Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, press release of 30 March 2017.
  13. Laura Motet (5 September 2017). ""Diplomatie du caviar": les échanges de bons procédés entre l'Azerbaïdjan et les élus français".
  14. Charles Haquet et Vincent Hugeux (14 February 2017). "Des élus français très zélés avec les pays autoritaires".
  15. "AZERBAIJAN DEBACLE: THE PACE DEBATE ON 23 JANUARY 2013" (PDF).
  16. "Spring cleaning – the corruption report on the Council of Europe is out".
  17. "US Lobbying Firm Launders Azerbaijan's Reputation – And Gets "Laundromat" Cash".
  18. Promoting the integration of Chinese migrants in Europe Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, press release of 27 April 2015.
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