List of heads of government of France
In France , the Prime Minister is the head of government. As such, in the semi-presidential system of government of the Fifth Republic , he faces the state president , who also exercises the functions of head of government in certain areas.
Constitutional position
The Prime Minister is appointed by the President. The office of Prime Minister is incompatible with the exercise of a parliamentary mandate or any other professional activity. The Prime Minister does not have a fixed term of office. It is a recognized constitutional convention that after a new election of the National Assembly or of the President, he offers the President the resignation of the government. Otherwise he can only be recalled by a vote of no confidence by the National Assembly.
The Prime Minister proposes ministers to the President for appointment and directs the affairs of government. The constitution gives him responsibility for national defense, ensuring the implementation of laws and, in principle, the right to issue ordinances. He thus shares central executive rights with the President, who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, chairs the Council of Ministers and signs Council of Ministers ordinances.
In contrast to the German Chancellor , the Prime Minister has no formal authority to issue guidelines and is not the head of cabinet meetings. As management instruments within the government, he has organizational power over the formation and staffing of ministries as well as the possibility of setting up inter-ministerial committees. He, too, stands alone as representatives of the executive to the legislative initiative, can the National Assembly , the confidence questions and the Constitutional Council with the aim of abstract judicial review call.
This gives him a potentially equivalent position in the management of the executive branch alongside the president. Whether it comes into effect in constitutional reality depends on the relationship between the President and the National Assembly. If the president has a political majority in the national assembly, he de facto takes over the leadership of the executive and the prime minister freely appointed by him subordinates himself to this claim. However, if the parliamentary majority is in opposition to the president, the constellation of so-called cohabitation occurs : Since the prime minister depends on the confidence of the national assembly, the state president is forced to appoint the leader of the opposition as prime minister. In this case, the prime minister's competences can develop fully in cooperation with the parliamentary majority that supports him, since the president withdraws in a cohabitation to a moderator role in the executive branch as well as the domaine réservé , whereby the overarching responsibility of the president for the foreign and defense - and European policy.
List of incumbents
In the Third and Fourth Republic , which had a parliamentary system of government, the head of government held the title of Président du Conseil ( President of the Council of Ministers , usually translated into German for short as Prime Minister ).
Until the end of the 19th century, party affiliations were only given programmatically. Parties as organized associations with permanent members only emerged around 1900.
Heads of government of France since 1815
Surname | Taking office | Resignation | Political party | Head of state | ||||
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President of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of France 1815-1830 ( Restoration ) | ||||||||
Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord | July 9, 1815 | September 26, 1815 | independent | King of France Louis XVIII 1815-1824 |
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Armand Emmanuel du Plessis | September 26, 1815 | December 29, 1818 | Ultra-royalist | |||||
Jean-Joseph Dessoles | December 29, 1818 | November 19, 1819 | Doctrinaire (Liberal Royalist) | |||||
Élie Decazes | November 19, 1819 | February 20, 1820 | doctrinaire | |||||
Armand Emmanuel du Plessis (2nd time) | February 20, 1820 | December 14, 1821 | Ultra-royalist | |||||
Jean-Baptiste de Villèle | December 14, 1821 | January 4, 1828 | Ultra-royalist | King of France Charles X. 1824–1830 |
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Jean-Baptiste Gay | January 4, 1828 | August 8, 1829 | Ultra-royalist | |||||
Jules de Polignac | August 8, 1829 | July 29, 1830 | Ultra-royalist | |||||
Casimir de Rochechouart de Mortemart | July 29, 1830 | July 31, 1830 | independent | |||||
President of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of France 1830–1848 ( July Monarchy ) | ||||||||
Victor de Broglie | August 13, 1830 | November 2, 1830 | Orléanist | King of the French Louis-Philippe I 1830–1848 |
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Jacques Laffitte | November 2, 1830 | March 13, 1831 | Movement party (progressive) | |||||
Casimir Pierre Périer | March 13, 1831 | May 16, 1832 | Resistance Party (Conservative) | |||||
Nicolas Soult | May 16, 1832 | July 18, 1834 | Movement party | |||||
Étienne Maurice Gérard | July 18, 1834 | November 10, 1834 | independent | |||||
Hugues-Bernard Maret | November 10, 1834 | November 18, 1834 | independent | |||||
Edouard Adolphe Mortier | November 18, 1834 | March 12, 1835 | independent | |||||
Victor de Broglie (2nd time) | March 12, 1835 | February 22, 1836 | Orléanist | |||||
Adolphe Thiers | February 22, 1836 | September 6, 1836 | Movement party | |||||
Louis-Mathieu Molé | September 6, 1836 | March 31, 1839 | Orléanist | |||||
Nicolas Soult (2nd time) | March 31, 1839 | March 1, 1840 | Movement party | |||||
Adolphe Thiers (2nd time) | March 1, 1840 | October 29, 1840 | Movement party | |||||
Nicolas Soult (3rd time) | October 29, 1840 | September 19, 1847 | Movement party | |||||
François Guizot | September 19, 1847 | February 23, 1848 | Resistance party | |||||
Louis-Mathieu Molé (2nd time) | February 23, 1848 | February 24, 1848 | Resistance party | |||||
President of the Council of Ministers of the French Republic 1848-1852 ( Second Republic ) | ||||||||
Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure | February 24, 1848 | May 9, 1848 | Moderate Republican | no head of state | ||||
François Arago | May 10, 1848 | June 24, 1848 | Moderate Republican | |||||
Louis-Eugène Cavaignac | June 28, 1848 | December 20, 1848 | Moderate Republican | |||||
Odilon Barrot | December 20, 1848 | October 31, 1849 | Party of Order (Conservative) | President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte 1848–1852 |
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Alphonse Henri d'Hautpoul | October 31, 1849 | January 24, 1851 | Party of order | |||||
President Bonaparte himself | January 24, 1851 | April 10, 1851 | Bonapartist | |||||
Léon Faucher | April 10, 1851 | October 26, 1851 | Party of order | |||||
President Bonaparte himself | October 26, 1851 | December 2, 1852 | Bonapartist | |||||
Head of the Cabinet of the French Empire 1852–1870 ( Second Empire ) | ||||||||
absolute rule of Napoleon III. | December 2, 1852 | January 2, 1870 | Bonapartist | Emperor of the French Napoleon III. 1852-1870 |
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Émile Ollivier | January 2, 1870 | August 9, 1870 | Bonapartist | |||||
Charles Cousin-Montauban | August 9, 1870 | September 4, 1870 | Bonapartist | |||||
President of the Council of Ministers of the French Republic 1870-1940 ( Third Republic ) | ||||||||
Louis Jules Trochu | September 4, 1870 | January 22, 1871 | independent | no head of state | ||||
Jules Dufaure | January 22, 1871 | May 24, 1873 | moderate republican | President Adolphe Thiers 1871–1873 |
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Albert de Broglie | May 24, 1873 | May 22, 1874 | Monarchist (oleanist) | President Patrice de Mac-Mahon 1873–1879 |
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Ernest Courtot de Cissey | May 22, 1874 | March 10, 1875 | independent | |||||
Louis-Joseph Buffet | March 10, 1875 | February 23, 1876 | monarchist | |||||
Jules Dufaure (2nd time) | February 23, 1876 | December 12, 1876 | moderate republican | |||||
Jules Simon | December 12, 1876 | May 17, 1877 | moderate republican | |||||
Albert de Broglie (2nd time) | May 17, 1877 | November 23, 1877 | monarchist | |||||
Gaëtan de Rochebouët | November 23, 1877 | December 13, 1877 | Conservative | |||||
Jules Dufaure (3rd time) | December 13, 1877 | February 4, 1879 | moderate republican | |||||
William Henry Waddington | February 4, 1879 | December 28, 1879 | moderate republican | President Jules Grévy 1879–1887 |
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Charles de Freycinet | December 28, 1879 | September 23, 1880 | moderate republican | |||||
Jules Ferry | September 23, 1880 | November 14, 1881 | moderate republican | |||||
Léon Gambetta | November 14, 1881 | January 30, 1882 | Republican Union | |||||
Charles de Freycinet (2nd time) | January 30, 1882 | August 7, 1882 | moderate republican | |||||
Charles Duclerc | August 7, 1882 | January 29, 1883 | moderate republican | |||||
Armand Fallières | January 29, 1883 | February 21, 1883 | moderate republican | |||||
Jules Ferry (2nd time) | February 21, 1883 | April 6, 1885 | moderate republican | |||||
Henri Brisson | April 6, 1885 | January 7, 1886 | Republican Union | |||||
Charles de Freycinet (3rd time) | January 7, 1886 | December 16, 1886 | moderate republican | |||||
René Goblet | December 16, 1886 | May 30, 1887 | moderate republican | |||||
Maurice Rouvier | May 30, 1887 | December 12, 1887 | Republican Union | |||||
Pierre Tirard | December 12, 1887 | April 3, 1888 | independent | President Marie François Sadi Carnot 1887–1894 |
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Charles Thomas Floquet | April 3, 1888 | February 22, 1889 | More radical | |||||
Pierre Tirard (2nd time) | February 22, 1889 | March 17, 1890 | independent | |||||
Charles de Freycinet (4th time) | March 17, 1890 | February 27, 1892 | Moderate Republican | |||||
Émile Loubet | February 27, 1892 | December 6, 1892 | Moderate Republican | |||||
Alexandre Ribot | December 6, 1892 | April 4, 1893 | Moderate Republican | |||||
Charles Dupuy | April 4, 1893 | December 3, 1893 | Moderate Republican | |||||
Jean Casimir-Perier | December 3, 1893 | May 30, 1894 | Moderate Republican | |||||
Charles Dupuy (2nd time) | May 30, 1894 | February 26, 1895 | Moderate Republican | President Jean Casimir-Perier 1894–1895 |
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Alexandre Ribot (2nd time) | February 26, 1895 | November 1, 1895 | Moderate Republican | President Félix Faure 1895–1899 |
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Léon Bourgeois | November 1, 1895 | April 29, 1896 | More radical | |||||
Felix Jules Meline | April 29, 1896 | June 28, 1898 | Middle right | |||||
Henri Brisson (2nd time) | June 28, 1898 | November 1, 1898 | Republican Union | |||||
Charles Dupuy (3rd time) | November 1, 1898 | June 22, 1899 | Moderate Republican | |||||
Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau | June 22, 1899 | June 7, 1902 | Democratic Alliance (AD) | President Émile Loubet 1899–1906 |
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Émile Combes | June 7, 1902 | January 24, 1905 | More radical | |||||
Maurice Rouvier (2nd time) | January 24, 1905 | March 12, 1906 | AD | |||||
Ferdinand Sarrien | March 12, 1906 | October 25, 1906 | More radical | President Armand Fallières 1906–1913 |
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Georges Clemenceau | October 25, 1906 | July 24, 1909 | More radical | |||||
Aristide Briand | July 24, 1909 | March 2, 1911 | PRS | |||||
Antoine Emmanuel Ernest Monis | March 2, 1911 | June 27, 1911 | More radical | |||||
Joseph Caillaux | June 27, 1911 | January 21, 1912 | More radical | |||||
Raymond Poincare | January 21, 1912 | January 21, 1913 | AD | |||||
Aristide Briand (2nd time) | January 21, 1913 | March 22, 1913 | PRS | |||||
Louis Barthou | March 22, 1913 | December 9, 1913 | AD | President Raymond Poincaré 1913–1920 |
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Gaston Doumergue | December 9, 1913 | June 9, 1914 | More radical | |||||
Alexandre Ribot (3rd time) | June 9, 1914 | June 13, 1914 | Moderate Republican | |||||
René Viviani | June 9, 1914 | October 29, 1915 | PRS | |||||
Aristide Briand (3rd time) | October 29, 1915 | March 20, 1917 | PRS | |||||
Alexandre Ribot (4th time) | March 20, 1917 | September 12, 1917 | Moderate Republican | |||||
Paul Painlevé | September 12, 1917 | November 16, 1917 | PRS | |||||
Georges Clemenceau (2nd time) | November 16, 1917 | January 20, 1920 | More radical | |||||
Alexandre Millerand | January 20, 1920 | September 24, 1920 | PRS | President Paul Deschanel 1920 |
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Georges Leygues | September 24, 1920 | January 16, 1921 | AD | President Alexandre Millerand 1920–1924 |
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Aristide Briand (4th time ) | January 16, 1921 | January 15, 1922 | PRS | |||||
Raymond Poincaré (2nd time) | January 15, 1922 | June 8, 1924 | AD | |||||
Frédéric François-Marsal | June 8, 1924 | June 15, 1924 | Republican Federation (FR) | |||||
Edouard Herriot | June 15, 1924 | April 17, 1925 | More radical | President Gaston Doumergue 1924–1931 |
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Paul Painlevé (2nd time) | April 17, 1925 | November 28, 1925 | PRS | |||||
Aristide Briand (5th time) | November 28, 1925 | July 20, 1926 | PRS | |||||
Édouard Herriot (2nd time) | July 20, 1926 | July 23, 1926 | More radical | |||||
Raymond Poincaré (3rd time) | July 23, 1926 | July 29, 1929 | AD | |||||
Aristide Briand (6th time) | July 29, 1929 | November 2, 1929 | PRS | |||||
André Tardieu | November 2, 1929 | February 21, 1930 | AD | |||||
Camille Chautemps | February 21, 1930 | March 2, 1930 | More radical | |||||
André Tardieu (2nd time) | March 2, 1930 | December 13, 1930 | AD | |||||
Théodore Steeg | December 13, 1930 | January 27, 1931 | More radical | |||||
Pierre Laval | January 27, 1931 | February 20, 1932 | independent | President Paul Doumer 1931–1932 |
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André Tardieu (3rd time) | February 20, 1932 | June 3, 1932 | AD | |||||
Edouard Herriot | June 3, 1932 | December 18, 1932 | More radical | President Albert Lebrun 1931–1940 |
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Joseph Paul-Boncour | December 18, 1932 | January 31, 1933 | PRS | |||||
Edouard Daladier | January 31, 1933 | October 26, 1933 | More radical | |||||
Albert Sarraut | October 26, 1933 | November 26, 1933 | More radical | |||||
Camille Chautemps (2nd time) | November 26, 1933 | January 30, 1934 | More radical | |||||
Édouard Daladier (2nd time) | January 30, 1934 | February 9, 1934 | More radical | |||||
Gaston Doumergue (2nd time) | February 9, 1934 | November 8, 1934 | More radical | |||||
Pierre-Etienne Flandin | November 8, 1934 | June 1, 1935 | AD | |||||
Fernand Bouisson | June 1, 1935 | June 7, 1935 | PRS | |||||
Pierre Laval (2nd time) | June 7, 1935 | January 24, 1936 | independent | |||||
Albert Sarraut (2nd time) | January 24, 1936 | June 4, 1936 | More radical | |||||
Léon Blum | June 4, 1936 | June 22, 1937 | SFIO | |||||
Camille Chautemps (3rd time) | June 22, 1937 | March 13, 1938 | More radical | |||||
Léon Blum (2nd time) | March 13, 1938 | April 10, 1938 | SFIO | |||||
Édouard Daladier (3rd time) | April 10, 1938 | March 21, 1940 | More radical | |||||
Paul Reynaud | March 21, 1940 | June 16, 1940 | AD | |||||
Philippe Pétain | June 16, 1940 | July 11, 1940 | independent | |||||
President of the Council of Ministers of the French State 1940–1944 ( Vichy regime ) | ||||||||
Pierre Laval (3rd time) | July 11, 1940 | December 13, 1940 | independent | Head of State Philippe Pétain 1940–1944 |
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Pierre-Étienne Flandin (2nd time) | December 13, 1940 | February 9, 1941 | independent | |||||
François Darlan | February 9, 1941 | April 12, 1942 | independent | |||||
Pierre Laval (4th time) | April 12, 1942 | September 7, 1944 | independent | |||||
President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic 1944–1947 | ||||||||
Charles de Gaulle | August 20, 1944 | January 26, 1946 | independent |
The head of government was also the head of state |
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Felix Gouin | January 26, 1946 | June 24, 1946 | SFIO | |||||
Georges Bidault | June 24, 1946 | November 28, 1946 | MRP | |||||
Vincent Auriol | November 28, 1946 | December 16, 1946 | SFIO | |||||
Léon Blum (3rd time) | December 16, 1946 | January 22, 1947 | SFIO | |||||
President of the Council of Ministers of the French Republic 1947–1959 ( IV Republic ) | ||||||||
Paul Ramadier | January 22, 1947 | November 24, 1947 | SFIO | President Vincent Auriol ( SFIO ) 1947–1954 |
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Robert Schuman | November 24, 1947 | July 24, 1948 | MRP | |||||
André Marie | July 24, 1948 | September 2, 1948 | Rad-Soc | |||||
Robert Schuman (2nd time) | September 2, 1948 | September 11, 1948 | MRP | |||||
Henri Queuille | September 11, 1948 | October 28, 1949 | Rad-Soc | |||||
Georges Bidault | October 28, 1949 | 2nd July 1950 | MRP | |||||
Henri Queuille (2nd time) | 2nd July 1950 | July 12, 1950 | Rad-Soc | |||||
René Pleven | July 12, 1950 | March 10, 1951 | UDSR | |||||
Henri Queuille | March 10, 1951 | August 11, 1951 | Rad-Soc | |||||
René Pleven (2nd time) | August 11, 1951 | January 20, 1952 | UDSR | |||||
Edgar Faure | January 20, 1952 | March 8, 1952 | Rad-Soc | |||||
Antoine Pinay | March 8, 1952 | January 8, 1953 | CNIP | |||||
René Mayer | January 8, 1953 | June 28, 1953 | More radical | |||||
Joseph Laniel | June 28, 1953 | June 19, 1954 | CNIP | |||||
Pierre Mendès France | June 19, 1954 | 17th February 1955 | More radical | President René Coty ( CNIP ) 1954–1959 |
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Christian Pineau | 17th February 1955 | February 23, 1955 | SFIO | |||||
Edgar Faure (2nd time) | February 23, 1955 | February 1, 1956 | More radical | |||||
Guy Mollet | February 1, 1956 | June 13, 1957 | SFIO | |||||
Maurice Bourgès-Maunoury | June 13, 1957 | November 6, 1957 | More radical | |||||
Felix Gaillard | November 6, 1957 | May 14, 1958 | More radical | |||||
Pierre Pflimlin | May 14, 1958 | June 1, 1958 | MRP | |||||
Charles de Gaulle | June 1, 1958 | January 8, 1959 | UNR | |||||
Prime Minister of the French Republic since 1959 ( Fifth Republic ) | ||||||||
Michel Debre | January 8, 1959 | April 14, 1962 | UNR | President Charles de Gaulle ( UNR ) 1959–1969 |
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Georges Pompidou | April 14, 1962 | July 10, 1968 | UNR | |||||
Maurice Couve de Murville | July 10, 1968 | June 20, 1969 | UDR | |||||
Jacques Chaban-Delmas | June 20, 1969 | July 6, 1972 | UDR | President Georges Pompidou ( UDR ) 1969–1974 |
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Pierre Messmer | July 6, 1972 | May 27, 1974 | UDR | |||||
Jacques Chirac | May 27, 1974 | August 26, 1976 | UDR | President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing ( UDF ) 1974–1981 |
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Raymond Barre | August 26, 1976 | May 21, 1981 | UDF | |||||
Pierre Mauroy | May 21, 1981 | 17th July 1984 | PS | President François Mitterrand ( PS ) 1981–1995 |
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Laurent Fabius | 17th July 1984 | March 20, 1986 | PS | |||||
Jacques Chirac (2nd time) | March 20, 1986 | May 10, 1988 | RPR | |||||
Michel Rocard | May 10, 1988 | May 15, 1991 | PS | |||||
Edith Cresson | May 15, 1991 | April 2, 1992 | PS | |||||
Pierre Bérégovoy | April 2, 1992 | March 29, 1993 | PS | |||||
Edouard Balladur | March 29, 1993 | May 18, 1995 | RPR | |||||
Alain Juppé | May 18, 1995 | June 3, 1997 | RPR | President Jacques Chirac ( RPR / UMP ) 1995–2007 |
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Lionel Jospin | June 3, 1997 | May 6, 2002 | PS | |||||
Jean-Pierre Raffarin | May 6, 2002 | May 31, 2005 | UMP | |||||
Dominique de Villepin | May 31, 2005 | May 17, 2007 | UMP | |||||
François Fillon | May 17, 2007 | May 16, 2012 | UMP | President Nicolas Sarkozy ( UMP ) 2007–2012 |
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Jean-Marc Ayrault | May 16, 2012 | March 31, 2014 | PS | President François Hollande ( PS ) 2012–2017 |
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Manuel Valls | March 31, 2014 | December 6, 2016 | PS | |||||
Bernard Cazeneuve | December 6, 2016 | 15th May 2017 | PS | |||||
Edouard Philippe | 15th May 2017 | 3rd July 2020 | non-party, formerly LR | President Emmanuel Macron ( LREM ) since 2017 |
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Jean Castex | 3rd July 2020 | officiating | independent |
- Existing parties
- Previous parties
Web links
- www.gouvernement.fr (French government portal)
- www.economie.gouv.fr: Chronology IIIeme République
Individual evidence
- ↑ From 1940 to 1942 Petain was formally Prime Minister. The actual head of government was the respective deputy