de Villepin, Dominique

French diplomat and right-wing politician, prime minister 2005–2007. Formerly a diplomat, he became one of President Jacques Chirac's closest advisers, when he served as secretary general of the presidency 1995–2002, although his advice to dissolve parliament in 1997 ushered in five years of power-sharing with a Socialist-led government. As foreign secretary 2002–04, he led the international opposition to US plans to invade Iraq, and as interior minister 2004–05 he introduced tough, populist security measures, including stricter visa regulations, an immigration police force, and the requirement for imams (Muslim preachers) to take courses on the French language, laws, and customs. He became prime minister in May 2005 after Jean-Pierre Raffarin resigned following a referendum in which French voters rejected a government-supported treaty establishing a constitution for Europe. In March 2006 his government faced massive demonstrations by students against a new law reducing job protection for younger workers with the intention of making the labour market more flexible. He resigned as prime minister in May 2007 at the end of the presidency of Jacques Chirac.

Born in Morocco, the son of a diplomat and member of the French Senate, he was raised in Latin America. After graduating in arts and law from the Ecole Nationale d'Administration in Paris, he became a diplomat. He served in the French embassy in Washington 1984–89 and Delhi 1989–92 and was chief of staff of the minister of foreign affairs, before becoming secretary general to President Chirac.