Benjamin Haddad (French pronunciation: [bɛ̃ʒamɛ̃ adad]; born 23 October 1985) is a French politician who has served as Minister Delegate for European Affairs in the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier since 2024.[1] A member of Renaissance (RE), he previously served in the National Assembly from 2022 to 2024, representing Paris's 14th constituency, which encompasses most of its 16th arrondissement.[2]

Benjamin Haddad
Minister Delegate for European Affairs
Assumed office
21 September 2024
Prime MinisterMichel Barnier
Preceded byJean-Noël Barrot
Member of the National Assembly
for Paris's 14th constituency
In office
22 June 2022 – 21 October 2024
Preceded bySandra Boëlle
Succeeded byJoséphine Missoffe
Personal details
Born (1985-10-23) 23 October 1985 (age 39)
Paris, France
Political partyRenaissance (2016–present)
Other political
affiliations
UMP (formerly)
Alma materSciences Po
HEC Paris

Early life and education

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Haddad was born in the 16th arrondissement of Paris in a Sephardic Jewish family from Tunisia.[3] He obtained a Master of Arts in international affairs from Sciences Po in Paris and an MA from HEC Paris in financial economics.[4]

Early career

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From 2014 to 2018, Haddad was a fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC.[5] From 2019 to 2022, he worked as senior director of the Atlantic Council's Europe Centre.[4][6] In 2019, he published his book Le paradis perdu : L'Amérique de Trump et la fin des illusions européennes.

Political career

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Prior to being elected to the National Assembly, Haddad was an activist within the Union for a Popular Movement in the early 2010s. He joined Emmanuel Macron's En Marche movement in 2016,[3] which would later be renamed La République En Marche! and Renaissance.

In the 2022 legislative election, Haddad defeated Francis Szpiner of The Republicans in the 14th constituency of Paris with 53.2% of the second-round vote.[7]

In Parliament, he served on both the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Committee on European Affairs.[2] In addition to his committee assignments, he chaired the French-Ukrainian parliamentary friendship group.[2] In December 2023, Haddad co-authored a joint letter of more than a hundred senior European lawmakers to their counterparts in the United States, pleading for the United States Congress to unlock further military aid to Ukraine in response to the Russian invasion of the country.[8]

In September 2024, Haddad was appointed to the government of Prime Minister Michel Barnier as Minister Delegate for European Affairs under Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.[3] In the days following his appointment, he announced he would advocate for the European Union to tighten its immigration policy guidelines: "Everywhere, in all of our countries, beyond the left-right divide, there's a strong demand from our citizens to take control of our immigration".[9]

References

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  1. ^ Leigh Thomas and Michel Rose (21 September 2024), Key ministers in France's new government line-up, Reuters.
  2. ^ a b c "Benjamin Haddad" (in French). National Assembly. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Alexis Bisson (21 September 2024). "Gouvernement Barnier : le parcours express de Benjamin Haddad, chargé de l'Europe" (in French). Le Parisien.
  4. ^ a b Benjamin Haddad, Atlantic Council.
  5. ^ Max Fisher (30 November 2016), French Election Hints at a European Shift Toward Russia, The New York Times.
  6. ^ Katrin Bennhold (23 April 2020), ‘Sadness’ and Disbelief From a World Missing American Leadership, The New York Times.
  7. ^ Emmanuelle Hunzinger (20 June 2022). "PORTRAIT. Législatives 2022 : "Cela va être un quinquennat difficile", Benjamin Haddad, des think tank américains au Palais Bourbon" (in French). france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr.
  8. ^ Michel Rose (11 December 2023), Exclusive: European lawmakers send plea to Congress on Ukraine aid, Reuters.
  9. ^ Clea Caulcutt and Nicholas Vinocur (30 September 2024), France’s new Europe minister will push Brussels to tighten migration rules, Politico Europe.