Gérard Philippe René André Larcher (born 14 September 1949) is a French politician serving as President of the Senate since 2014, previously holding the office from 2008 to 2011. A member of The Republicans, he has been a Senator for the Yvelines department since 1986, with an interruption between 2004 and 2007, when he was Minister for Employment, Labour and Professional Integration of Young People under President Jacques Chirac. Larcher also served as Mayor of Rambouillet from 1983 to 2004 and again from 2007 until 2014.

Early life and education
Larcher was born in Flers, Orne to a Roman Catholic family. He is the son of Philippe Larcher, director of a textile factory and former Mayor of Saint-Michel-des-Andaines, a small town in Orne.

Upon his second marriage with Christine Weiss, a dentist, he converted to Protestantism. From this union were born three children: Aymeric, Dorothée and Charlotte. After he graduated from the National Veterinary School of Lyon (ENVL), Larcher worked from 1974 to 1979 in the France team of equestrian sports.

Political career

Local mandates
In 1976, Larcher joined, as a high school student, the movement of young Gaullists, because he admired Charles de Gaulle and supported the policy orientations of the founder of the Fifth Republic. In the 1983 municipal election, he was elected Mayor of Rambouillet, in Yvelines. Two years later, he was elected regional councillor of Île-de-France.

On 28 September 1986, for the first time, Larcher was elected to be Senator for Yvelines, under the banner of the Rally for the Republic (RPR). Aged 37, he was one of the youngest French Senators. Appointed Secretary of the Senate in 1989, he was re-elected as a Senator in 1995 and elected as Vice President of the Senate in 1997. In 2001, he was appointed as President of the Senate's Economic Affairs Commission.

Government minister
In March 2004, after the defeat of the right in regional elections, Larcher was appointed Junior Minister to the Minister of Social Affairs in the cabinet of Jean-Pierre Raffarin. He retained his place in the government in June 2005, after the appointment of Dominique de Villepin as Prime Minister.

In May 2007, the new President, Nicolas Sarkozy, suggested Larcher enter the government of François Fillon as Minister of Agriculture, but Gérard Larcher declined and preferred to sit in the Senate. In the following months, he prepared his candidacy for President of the Senate, to succeed Christian Poncelet. On 31 July 2008, he was declared a candidate for the UMP primary to elect the President of the Senate, against former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. On 24 September, he was elected as the UMP's candidate for the Presidency of the Senate with 78 votes, against 56 votes for Raffarin and 17 votes for Senator Philippe Marini.

President of the Senate
Larcher was elected as President of the Senate on 1 October 2008 receiving 173 votes against 134 votes for Socialist candidate Jean-Pierre Bel.

The left won a Senate majority in the September 2011 Senate election, and Jean-Pierre Bel was elected as President of the Senate on 1 October 2011. He received 179 votes against 134 votes for Larcher, who was the right's candidate; a centrist, Valerie Letard, received 29 votes.

After the victory of the right in September 2014 Senate elections, Larcher was again nominated for the post of President of the Senate by members of the UMP group, and he was elected as President of the Senate on 1 October 2014.

Political career

Governmental function
Minister Delegate for Labor Relations : 2004-2005
Minister Delegate for Employment, Labor and for Employability of young : 2005-2007

Senate mandates

Senate of France
Senator of Yvelines : 1986-2004
Vice President of the Senate : 1997-2001
Président of the Economic Affairs Commission in the Senate : 2001-2004
Senator of Yvelines : 2004
Senator of Yvelines : Since 2007
President of the Senate of France : 2008-2011
President of the Senate of France : Since 2014

Regional Council
Regional councillor of Île-de-France : 1985-1992

Municipal Council

Municipal councillor of Rambouillet : Since 1983
Mayor of Rambouillet : 1983-2004 
Deputy Mayor of Rambouillet : 2004-2007 
Mayor of Rambouillet : 2007-2014

Political positions
In 2019, Larcher argued that wearing the Islamic headscarf in the public space is "a freedom that he wants to defend" and considers Islam "compatible with the Republic, provided that it is neither radical nor political."

Ahead of the 2022 presidential elections, Larcher publicly declared his support for Xavier Bertrand as the Republicans’ candidate. Ahead of the party's 2022 convention, he endorsed Bruno Retailleau as chairman.

References

External links

 Gérard Larcher’s official site
 Presidency of the Senate
 Gérard Larcher’s official Senate page

1949 births
Living people
People from Flers, Orne
French Lutherans
Converts to Lutheranism from Roman Catholicism
Union for the New Republic politicians
Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians
Rally for the Republic politicians
Union for a Popular Movement politicians
The Republicans (France) politicians
Gaullism, a way forward for France
Government ministers of France
Presidents of the Senate (France)
French Senators of the Fifth Republic
Senators of Yvelines
Mayors of Yvelines
French veterinarians