Richard Descoings

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Richard Jean Marc Descoings (born June 23, 1958 in Paris , † April 3, 2012 in New York ) was a French civil servant.

He was director of the Institut d'études politiques de Paris and chief administrator of the Fondation nationale des sciences politiques . The Institut d'études politiques de Paris and the Fondation nationale des sciences politiques are collectively referred to as Sciences Po. Descoings also served as a government advisor.

Life

Descoings came from a middle-class family. His parents were doctors. As a student, Descoings attended the best Lycées in France, namely the Lycée Montaigne , the Lycée Louis-le-Grand and the Lycée Henri IV . Descoings was an excellent student, but had to leave the Lycée Louis-le-Grand because his math teacher felt that Descoings had no analytical skills and was unable to follow the lessons in the higher grades. Nevertheless, he completed his baccalaureate with Mention très bien . After attending a classe préparatoire (French school to prepare for the Grandes Écoles ), he studied at the Institut d'études politiques de Paris until 1980, where he received his diploma with summa cum laude . After several unsuccessful attempts, he was finally accepted at the École nationale d'administration in 1983 , where he was one of the ten best students of his year. This enabled him to be employed by the Conseil d'État .

Career

From 1985 to 1989 he worked as a chartered accountant in the Conseil d'État, and in 1987 he also became a special advisor to Alain Lancelot, then director of the Institut d'études politiques de Paris.

He was appointed deputy director of the Institut d'études politiques de Paris in 1989 and remained in this position until he became advisor to the Conseil d'État in 1991. In this role he worked from 1991 to 1993 as an advisor to the Ministry of Education on budget issues.

Between 1993 and 1996 he was deputy rapporteur for the Conseil d'État on education and also a member of the working group on the organization of the state. In 1995 he worked as an agent for legal training at the Conseil d'État until he became director of Sciences Po in 1996. In 2000 he also became a government advisor, which he was until the end. After Nicolas Sarkozy was elected, there was speculation that Descoings should be appointed to the head of a commission on equality between social opportunities and positive discrimination.

Sciences Po

Descoings' first reforms, the internationalization of the university and the extension of the course to five years, are well received. The following were a lot more controversial and made him an often mentioned and quoted person in the media who was said to have political ambitions.

  • In 2001 Descoings decided to reserve a contingent of admission from Sciences Po for students from the “ZEP” (problem areas). This act sparked a debate about positive discrimination widespread in France. Several student unions filed a lawsuit with the Paris Administrative Court to annul this measure; however, they failed.
  • In 2004, tuition fees were increased in order to introduce a more generous scholarship system. This was again a measure to ensure “social justice”. Children of wealthy parents had to pay up to € 5150 per year, but more scholarships were given to students from lower income groups. This measure was followed by protests by student associations, who complained about the uneven increase in tuition fees.
  • On February 8, 2005 Descoings received Condoleezza Rice at the Fondation nationale des sciences politiques. She gave her only speech here on her first trip to Europe as Foreign Minister.

In 2009 he was reprimanded by the Académie de la Carpette anglaise because he wanted to introduce courses in English only for certain courses. He also corresponded in English with the French Gymnasium in Madrid.

death

Descoings was on the occasion of a meeting organized by the Secretary General of the United Nations in New York City ("Global Colloquium of University Presidents"); by directors of Grandes Écoles and universities. He was found dead in his hotel room on April 3, 2012. He died of a heart attack . Descoings suffered from high blood pressure .

Awards

In recognition of his services to the French Republic, he was awarded the Ordre national du Mérite and the Ordre des Palmes Académiques . Descoings was also honored with the Brazilian Rio Branco Order ( Ordem de Rio Branco ). He also held honorary doctorates from numerous European and American universities.

Publications

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ "Richard Descoings, le Directeur de Sciences Po, est mort. » , Le Figaro , 4 avril 2012.
  2. ↑ Clarity after the mysterious death of the rector of a Parisian elite university. In: welt.de on May 30, 2012
personal data
SURNAME Descoings, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Descoings, Richard Jean Marc (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French director of the Institut d'études politiques de Paris
DATE OF BIRTH June 23, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH April 3, 2012
Place of death New York City