Jack Lang

Jack Lang
Member of the French National Assembly for Pas-de-Calais' 6th constituency
Incumbent
Assumed office  19 June 2002
Preceded by	Dominique Dupilet
Education Minister of France
In office 27 March 2000 – 5 May 2002
Preceded by	Claude Allègre
Succeeded by	Luc Ferry
In office 3 April 1992 – 29 March 1993
Preceded by	Lionel Jospin
Succeeded by	François Bayrou
Culture Minister of France
In office 13 May 1988 – 2 April 1992
Preceded by	François Léotard
Succeeded by	Jacques Toubon
In office 22 May 1981 – 19 March 1986
Preceded by	Michel d'Ornano
Succeeded by	François Léotard
Member of the French National Assembly for Loir-et-Cher
In office 16 March 1986 – 28 July 1988
In office 1 June 1997 – 27 April 2000
Mayor of Blois
In office 20 March 1989 – 2000
Preceded by	Pierre Sudreau
Succeeded by	Bernard Valette
Born	2 September 1939 (1939-09-02) (age 70) Mirecourt, Vosges, France
Nationality	French
Political party	Socialist

Jack Mathieu Émile Lang (born 2 September 1939¹) is a French politician and a member of the French Socialist Party. He currently serves in the National Assembly from the sixth district of Pas-de-Calais.¹

Biography

Lang was born to Roger Lang and Marie-Luce Bouchet in Mirecourt, in the département of Vosges, and is of Jewish ancestry. [1] He studied political science at the Paris Institute of Political Studies and went on to receive a postgraduate degree in public law. His career then focused on a combination of teaching and culture and the arts. He was the founder and producer of Festival du Monde in Nancy, France, was director of the Nancy University Theatre from 1963 to 1972 and then director of the Palais de Chaillot Théâtre from 1972 to 1974. At the same time he was a professor of international law from 1971 to 1981. He married Monique Buczynski in 1961 and they have two daughters.

Politics

Lang entered politics as a Socialist member of French National Assembly from Paris in 1977. He is best known for having served as Minister of Culture (22 May 1981 – 19 March 1986 and 13 May 1988 – 29 March 1993) and as Minister of Education (3 April 1992 – 29 March 1993 and 27 March 2000 – 5 May 2002).¹

In 1981, while Minister of Culture, he created the Fête de la Musique, a massive celebration of music held on 21 June each year, where many amateur musicians give free open-air performances. He is the co-founder and president of the Union of the Theatres of Europe.

In August 1981, he created the Lang Law, which fixes the price of books.

Lang was a Member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 1997.¹ In 2000 he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Paris. While he had planned to run for president in 2007 he decided not to register as a candidate for the Socialist nomination in the name of party unity.

In 2007, Lang agreed to become co-chairman of a commission drafting changes to the Constitution that were supported by President Nicolas Sarkozy and opposed by the Socialist Party. This decision provoked strong criticism from his party, leading him to end his role in the party leadership. When Parliament voted on the constitutional changes on 21 July 2008, he voted in favor, becoming the only Socialist deputy to do so. A three-fifths majority was required, and the changes passed by a vote of 539 to 357, meaning that Lang's support enabled the bill to pass by a one-vote margin. The Socialist Party denounced Lang for this vote; party spokesman Julien Dray said that he had "gone too far" and "no longer has his place in our political family", while Jean-Marc Ayrault, the President of the Socialist Parliamentary Group, said that Lang's vote was an act of "crossing the Rubicon". Lang replied by saying that it "is in nobody's power to strike me from the map of the French political landscape".²

In late 2009, Sarkozy appointed Lang his special envoy to North Korea, following a similar assignment earlier in the year to Cuba. Lang is scheduled to travel to Pyongyang on November 9 for a self-described "listening mission" aimed at exploring bilateral ties and discussing the North Korean nuclear program, among other things. Lang briefed American officials including Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and special envoy Sung Kim, as well as ambassadors of countries involved such as Russia, before the assignment was publicly announced. Some critics questioned Lang's qualifications, but Lang said he would be driven by his "intuition" that change was afoot in North Korea.³

Political career

Governmental functions

Minister of Culture : 1981-1986.

Minister of Culture, Communication, Great Works and of the Bicentennial : 1988-1991.

Minister of Culture and Communication, government's spokesman : 1991-1992.

Minister of State, minister of National Education and Culture : 1992-1993.

Minister of National Education : 2000-2002.

Special envoy to Cuba : February 2009.

Special envoy to North Korea : November 2009.

Electoral mandates

European Parliament

Member of European Parliament : 1994-1997 (Reelected member of the National Assembly of France in 1997). Elected in 1994.

National Assembly of France

Member of the National Assembly of France for Pas-de-Calais : Since 2002. Elected in 2002, reelected in 2007.

Member of the National Assembly of France for Loir-et-Cher : 1986-1988 (Became minister in 1988) / March-December 1993 (Resignation) / 1997-2000 (Became minister in 2000). Elected in 1986, reelected in 1988, 1993, 1997.

Regional Council

Vice-president of the Regional Council of Nord-Pas-de-Calais : Since 2004

Regional councillor of Nord-Pas-de-Calais : Since 2004.

Regional councillor of Centre (region) : 1992-1998.

General Council

General councillor of Loir-et-Cher : 1992-1993 (Resignation).

Municipal Council

Mayor of Blois : 1989-2000 (Resignation). Reelected in 1995.

Municipal councillor of Blois : 1989-2002 (Resignation). Reelected in 1995.

Councillor of Paris 1983-1989.

Bibliography

See also the bibliography on his website (in French).

• Caplan, Lincoln, "M. Le Ministre" The New Yorker 60/47 (7 January 1985) : 18-19

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jack Lang

• Jack Lang - blog
• Jack Lang - website

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia