Who Is Elisabeth Borne? Second Woman Prime Minister Of France

Who is Elisabeth Borne? On Monday, Elisabeth Borne was appointed as the new prime minister of France, which made her the second woman to hold the position. Borne's name was brought into the picture after Jean Castex resigned after the reelection of President Emmanuel Macron last month.

The inclusion of 61-year-old Borne makes her the second woman to hold the position after Edith Cresson. Cresson was the prime minister between 1991 and 1992. She held the position under the Socialist President Francois Mitterrand.

Becoming the Prime Minister was not Borne's sudden interaction with politics. She has served as the Labour minister under Macron's previous government since 2020 and before that, she was the transport minister. She was also the minister of ecological transition under the same government.

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Who Is Elisabeth Borne?

It's been reported that the first action by the newly appointed Prime Minister would be to make sure that Macron's centralist party and their allies do well in the French parliamentary elections, which are scheduled to take place in June. If the party wins, then the PM would be able to ensure the pension changes like the minimum age of retirement will be raised from 62 to 65 as promised by Macron.

Borne was born in the year 1961 on April 18. She has had a glorious career in the public sector. From 2008 to 2013, she worked as the director of urban planning for the City of Paris. Post which, she was appointed the Prefect of Vienne and the Region of Poitou-Charentes. At the time, she was the first woman to hold the position.

From 2014 to 2015, she was the private secretary to Segolene Roya, who was Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy back then. From 2015 to 2017, she became the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RATP Group, which is a state-owned enterprise.

Borne is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and a Ponts et Chaussees inspector general. She has served various positions in the French Equipment ministry. She was also appointed as the advisor for transport and then for urban planning in the office of the prime minister from 1997 to 2002.

Feature Image Credit: DW