1. Xavier Bertrand played a leading role in Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign in 2007.
23 Facts About Xavier Bertrand
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Xavier Bertrand was a member of the Union for a Popular Movement, later the Republicans, until 11 December 2017, when he announced that was "definitively leaving" the party after Laurent Wauquiez was elected the leader of the party.
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Xavier Bertrand was born on 21 March 1965 in Chalons-sur-Marne, in the Marne departement, of the Champagne-Ardenne region of France.
4.
Xavier Bertrand studied at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, where he obtained a master's degree in public law, then a Diplome d'Etudes Superieures Specialisees in local administration.
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At the age of sixteen, Xavier Bertrand volunteered for the Rally for the Republic and quickly went into politics.
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In 1992, Xavier Bertrand led the campaign for the 'no' to the Maastricht Treaty in his department, the Aisne in the region of Picardy.
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Xavier Bertrand was chosen to defend this draft bill in the National Assembly.
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On 31 March 2004, when Raffarin appointed his third government, Xavier Bertrand was named Junior Health Minister for Health Insurance.
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Under his successor Dominique de Villepin, Xavier Bertrand became the Senior Minister for Health, when Douste-Blazy was reappointed Foreign Affairs Minister.
10.
Xavier Bertrand announced his support to UMP presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy on 29 September 2006.
11.
Xavier Bertrand was named Sarkozy's official spokesperson on 15 January 2007.
12.
On 19 June 2007 Xavier Bertrand was appointed Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Solidarity in Fillon's second government after the first one had handed in its resignation the day before.
13.
Xavier Bertrand later served as Minister of Labour, Employment and Health from 2010 to 2012.
14.
Amid the Fillon affair, in March 2017, Xavier Bertrand joined Valerie Pecresse, Christian Estrosi and others in calling for Alain Juppe to replace Francois Fillon as the party's candidate in the 2017 French presidential election.
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In 2020, Xavier Bertrand publicly expressed interest in challenging incumbent President Emmanuel Macron in the 2022 French presidential election.
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Xavier Bertrand obtained 52.37 percent of the vote in the Hauts-de-France region, against 25.65 percent for Sebastien Chenu of the National Rally.
17.
In late 2021, Xavier Bertrand launched Nous France, a conservative movement.
18.
Xavier Bertrand renewed his endorsement of Retailleau in the Republicans' 2025 leadership election.
19.
Xavier Bertrand was the best-placed traditional conservative in opinion polls for the 2021 Republican congress, but ended up in fourth place.
20.
Ahead of the 2022 elections, Xavier Bertrand defended liberal economic positions.
21.
In July 2014, Xavier Bertrand defended President Francois Hollande's decision to push ahead with delivery of a Mistral-class amphibious assault ship to Russia in defiance of calls by key allies, despite the Russo-Ukrainian War; the deal was later called off.
22.
Xavier Bertrand married Emmanuelle Gontier, advisor on human resources, on 11 July 1998.
23.
Xavier Bertrand has been a member of the Grand Orient of France since 1995.