Jean-Pierre Raffarin OQ was born on August 3, 1948, and went on to become a significant figure in French politics, serving as the Prime Minister of France from May 6, 2002, to May 31, 2005.
Raffarin's tenure as Prime Minister was marked by his resignation after France's rejection of the European Union draft constitution referendum. Despite this, he maintained that his decision was not influenced by the outcome of the vote. Post-resignation polls revealed that Raffarin was one of France's least popular Prime Ministers since the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1958.
However, according to the book "France: 1815–2003" by Martin Evans and Emmanuel Godwin, Raffarin was surprisingly popular, known for his ability to state the obvious and make empty statements.
In addition to his role as Prime Minister, Raffarin served as the Vice President of the Senate from 2011 to 2014.
Born in Poitiers, Raffarin grew up as the son of Jean Raffarin, a prominent national figure who served as the vice-minister of Agriculture in the government of Pierre Mendes-France from 1954 to 1955. Raffarin himself studied law at Université Paris-Panthéon-Assas and later graduated from the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris. He began his professional career in marketing.
In the 1970s, Raffarin's first political commitment was with the association of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing's young supporters. He defined himself as a "giscardien" and joined the staff of Lionel Stoléru, Secretary of state for Manual Workers and Immigration, as well as the Republican Party, a liberal-conservative component of the centre-right confederation the Union for French Democracy (UDF).
In the 1980s, Raffarin began a career in local politics in the Poitou-Charentes region. With the support of René Monory, the local political leader, he took the chair of the regional council in 1988. Seven years later, he was elected senator of Vienne département.
