Jack Lang | |
|---|---|
 Lang at theGay Pride in 2008 | |
| Member of theNational Assembly forPas-de-Calais's6th constituency | |
| In office 19 June 2002 – 17 June 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Dominique Dupilet |
| Succeeded by | Brigitte Bourguignon |
| Minister of National Education | |
| In office 27 March 2000 – 5 May 2002 | |
| Prime Minister | Lionel Jospin |
| Preceded by | Claude Allègre |
| Succeeded by | Luc Ferry |
| In office 2 April 1992 – 29 March 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Bérégovoy |
| Preceded by | Lionel Jospin |
| Succeeded by | François Bayrou |
| Government Spokesman | |
| In office 17 May 1991 – 2 April 1992 | |
| Prime Minister | Édith Cresson |
| Preceded by | Louis Le Pensec Claude Evin |
| Succeeded by | Martin Malvy |
| Minister of Culture | |
| In office 13 May 1988 – 29 March 1993 | |
| Prime Minister | Michel Rocard Édith Cresson Pierre Bérégovoy |
| Preceded by | François Léotard |
| Succeeded by | Jacques Toubon |
| In office 22 May 1981 – 20 March 1986 | |
| Prime Minister | Pierre Mauroy Laurent Fabius |
| Preceded by | Michel d'Ornano |
| Succeeded by | François Léotard |
| Member of theNational Assembly forLoir-et-Cher's1st constituency | |
| In office 12 June 1997 – 27 April 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Michel Fromet |
| Succeeded by | Michel Fromet |
| In office 2 April 1993 – 9 December 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Michel Fromet |
| Succeeded by | Michel Fromet |
| In office 2 April 1986 – 28 July 1988 | |
| Preceded by | Proportional representation |
| Succeeded by | Michel Fromet |
| Mayor ofBlois | |
| In office 20 March 1989 – 21 March 2000 | |
| Preceded by | Pierre Sudreau |
| Succeeded by | Bernard Valette |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jack Mathieu Émile Lang (1939-09-02)2 September 1939 (age 86) |
| Political party | Socialist Party |
| Alma mater | Sciences Po |
Jack Mathieu Émile Lang (French pronunciation:[dʒakmatjøemillɑ̃ɡ]; born 2 September 1939)[1] is a French politician. A member of theSocialist Party, he served asMinister of Culture from 1981 to 1986 and again from 1988 to 1993, as well asMinister of National Education from 1992 to 1993 and 2000 to 2002.
He was alsoMayor ofBlois from 1989 until his resignation in 2000.[1] Lang is best known for originating theFête de la Musique in 1982 as Culture Minister, an all day public music festival which occurs yearly on 21 June in France and throughout the world. Since 2013 he has been president of theArab World Institute inParis.
Jack Lang was born to Roger Lang and Marie-Luce Bouchet inMirecourt, in thedépartement ofVosges. His father was from asecular, assimilated, well-to-doJewish family[2] based inNancy. Roger Lang was the commercial manager of the family business which was founded by Jack's grandfather Albert. Roger and Albert were bothfreemasons. Jack's mother, Marie-Luce Bouchet, aCatholic, was born in 1919 to Emile Bouchet, who died in 1926, and Berthe Boulanger, a nurse who was also a freemason.[3]
In 1938, Albert and Roger sent their wives to Vichy because of the threat of war with Germany. After the German invasion, Albert Lang and his wife moved toBrive-la-Gaillarde inCorrèze. The very young Jack and his mother went to stay with his great-grandmother (the mother of Berthe Boulanger) in Cholet and subsequently moved toBordeaux. His father Roger was first mobilized in Luneville, and then joined his parents and his brother-in-law Luc Bouchet in Brive. Jack and his mother also joined them in Brive after the bombing of Bordeaux. Jack Lang's father was sentenced by the court in Brive for failing to report his children as Jews, but was later acquitted by theCourt of Appeal on the ground that the children's mother was a Catholic. He had followed the advice of the rabbi of Brive,David Feuerwerker.[4] Roger Lang was nevertheless placed under house arrest. Berthe Bouchet (Boulanger) visited the Langs in April 1942 when her daughter was about to give birth to her third child, Marianne. In 1943, Berthe was arrested in Nancy by theGestapo for acts of propaganda and resistance. She was deported toRavensbrück and died in the spring of 1945.[5]
Jack Lang studied political science at theInstitut d'Études Politiques de Paris, 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 ofFestival du Monde inNancy, was director of theNancy University Theatre from 1963 to 1972, and then director of theThéâtre national de Chaillot from 1972 to 1974. At the same time he was a professor ofinternational law from 1971 to 1981 at Nancy University and thenParis Nanterre University.[6] He married Monique Buczynski in 1961. The couple have two daughters.
In 1997, he was President of the Jury at the47th Berlin International Film Festival.[7]
Lang entered politics as a Socialist member of theFrench National Assembly from Paris in 1977. He is best known for having served asMinister of Culture (22 May 1981 – 19 March 1986 and 13 May 1988 – 29 March 1993) and asMinister of Education (3 April 1992 – 29 March 1993 and 27 March 2000 – 5 May 2002).[1]
In 1981, while Minister of Culture, he created theFête de la Musique, a massive celebration of music held on 21 June each year, where many amateur musicians give free open-air performances.[8] He is the co-founder and president of theUnion of the Theatres of Europe.[9]
In August 1981, he created theLang Law, which allows publishers to enforce a minimum sale price for books.[10]
In the 80s he contributed to the creation of theEurope Theatre Prize, born in 1986,[11] of which he is the current President.[12]
Lang was aMember of the European Parliament from 1994 to 1997.[1] In 2000, he stood unsuccessfully forMayor of Paris. While he had planned to stand forpresident in 2007, he ultimately decided not to register as a candidate in theSocialist primary for the sake of party unity.[13]
In 2007, Lang agreed to become co-chairman of a commission drafting changes to the Constitution that were supported by PresidentNicolas Sarkozy but 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 favour, becoming the only Socialist deputy so to do. 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 spokesmanJulien Dray said that he had "gone too far" and "no longer has his place in our political family", whileJean-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".[14]
In late 2009, Sarkozy appointed Lang his special envoy toNorth Korea, following a similar assignment earlier in the year toCuba. Lang travelled toPyongyang on 9 November 2009 for a self-described "listening mission" aimed at exploring bilateral ties and discussing theNorth Korean nuclear program, among other things. Lang briefed American officials includingDeputy Secretary of StateJames Steinberg and special envoySung Kim, as well as ambassadors of countries involved such asRussia, 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.[15]
In August 2010, Lang became special adviser on piracy at the United Nations. He was brought in to advise on the prosecution ofpirates off the coast of Somalia.[16]
In 2012 Lang was chosen as the Socialist Party candidate for the National Assembly in the second district in the Vosges department.[17] A controversial figure in the Socialist Party since his collaboration with Sarkozy, Lang's constituency was abolished during the national reapportionment and he failed to be nominated in several other constituencies before finally succeeding in the Vosges. The electorate in this department is considered by observers to be more conservative than in Lang's previous seat. Lang was criticized for being an 'outsider', to which he countered that he had been born in the region. Lang was narrowly defeated on the second round of voting in the election on 17 June 2012, winning 49.1% of the vote.[18]
European Parliament
National Assembly of France
Regional Council
General Council
Municipal Council
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{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Education 1992–1993 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister of Education 2000–2002 | Succeeded by |
