Bernard Kouchner

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Bernard Kouchner

Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 17 May 2007 – present
Prime Minister	François Fillon
Preceded by	Philippe Douste-Blazy
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Minister of Health
In office 6 February 2001 – 7 May 2002
Prime Minister	Lionel Jospin
Preceded by	Dominique Gillot
Succeeded by	Jean-François Mattéi
In office 4 June 1997 – 7 July 1999
Prime Minister	Lionel Jospin
Preceded by	Jacques Barrot
Succeeded by	Dominique Gillot
In office 2 April 1992 – 29 March 1993
Prime Minister	Pierre Bérégovoy
Preceded by	Claude Evin
Succeeded by	Simone Veil

Born	November 01, 1939 (1939-11-01) (age 68) Avignon, France
Political party	Excluded from the French Socialist Party for joining the UMP government in May 2007
Spouse	Christine Ockrent
Profession	Medical Doctor

Bernard Kouchner (born November 1, 1939 in Avignon) is a French politician, diplomat, and doctor. He is co-founder of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Doctors of the World. He is currently the French minister of Foreign and European Affairs in the Fillon government, although he was considered in the past as a leftist politician.

1 Humanitarian actions
2 Minister in left-wing governments
3 UN Representative in Kosovo
4 On the US-led invasion of Iraq
5 Candidate for UN positions
6 In the Fillon government
- 6.1 Comments on Iran nuclear situation
7 Personal life
8 Positions held
9 Notes
10 External links

Born to a Jewish father and a Protestant mother, he began his political career as a member of the French Communist Party (PCF), from which he was expelled in 1966. He worked as a physician for the Red Cross in Biafra in 1968 (during the Nigerian Civil War). He founded MSF in 1971, and then, due to a conflict of opinion with MSF chairman Claude Malhuret, the Doctors of the World ('Médecins du Monde') in 1980. Kouchner worked as a humanitarian volunteer during the Siege of Naba’a refugee camp in Lebanon in East Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War taking risks that "other foreign aid workers weren’t, even worked closely with the Shia cleric Imam Musa al-Sadr."[2]

From 1988, he began his government career in Socialist governments, though he was not always a member of the French Socialist Party. He became 'Secrétaire d'état', a lower position in the Cabinet, for Humanitarian Action in 1988, then Minister of Health in 1992, under Mitterand's presidency. Later, he continued his political career in the European Parliament. Between 1993 and 1997, France was governed by right governments.

When Lionel Jospin became Prime Minister in 1997, he became Minister of Health for the second time.

On July 15, 1999, pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1244, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan nominated Kouchner as the first UN Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo [3]. During 18 months, he led UN efforts to create a new civil administration and political system replacing the Serbian ones, and to rebuild the economy shattered by three years of civil war. Thus, municipal councils were elected at local level by the end of 2000 [4]. He was replaced on 21 January 2001 by Danish Social Democrat Hans Hækkerup. He became at this time Minister of Health for the third time, until the 2002 Elections.

Kouchner is a long-time advocate of humanitarian intervention. In early 2003, he pronounced himself in favour of removing Saddam Hussein as President of Iraq, arguing that interference against dictatorship should be a global priority, and continued to say that now, the focus should be on the actual people themselves, and that they are the only ones who could answer yes or no to war.

In a February 4, 2003 editorial with Antoine Veil in Le Monde, entitled "Neither War Nor Saddam," Kouchner said that he was opposed to the impending War in Iraq, and, as the title suggests, to the remaining in power of Saddam Hussein, the removal of whom should be accomplished via a concerted United Nations, preferably diplomatic, solution.^[1] ^[2]

In 2005, Kouchner was a candidate for the position of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but lost the appointment in favor of former Portuguese Prime Minister, António Guterres, who was nominated by then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. One of Kouchner statements on behalf of his candidature can be found on the International Council of Voluntary Agencies site.

In 2006, Kouchner was also a candidate to become Director-General of the World Health Organisation [5]. He lost before the final election round and Chinese candidate Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun was later elected.

After the election of Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007, Kouchner was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in François Fillon's government, even though Kouchner supported Sarkozy's Socialist rival Ségolène Royal during the campaign. He has since been expelled from the Socialist Party for his acceptance of the post.^[3]

In September 2007, Kouchner's public comments on the Iranian nuclear situation attracted much attention and controversy. In an interview on September 16, 2007, he said, "We will negotiate until the end. And at the same time we must prepare ourselves [...] for the worst.... The worst, it’s war...." ^[4]. He stated that France was committed to a diplomatic resolution and that no military action was planned, but that an Iranian nuclear weapon would pose "a real danger for the whole world". ^[5] Iranian officials criticized the comments as "inflammatory"^[6]. The chief UN nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency indirectly responded to Kouchner by characterizing talk of attacking Iran as "hype," saying the use of force should only be considered as a last resort and only if authorized by the UN Security Council.^[7]

"I would not talk about any use of force," said On September 18, 2007, Kouchner attempted to respond to criticisms. In comments to newspaper Le Monde, he stated, "I do not want it to be said that I am a warmonger! [...] My message was a message of peace, of seriousness and of determination. [...] The worst situation would be war. To avoid that, the French attitude is to negotiate, negotiate, negotiate, without fear of being rebuffed, and to work with our European friends on credible sanctions." ^[8]

Kouchner has four children by his first wife, Évelyne Pisier, a professor of law, and one child, Alexandre, by his present wife Christine Ockrent, a television journalist.^[9]

Became the first "Secrétaire d'état" (lower ministerial cabinet) in charge of humanitarian action from 1988 to 1992 (in the Michel Rocard cabinet.)
Health Minister in 1992-1993 (under Pierre Bérégovoy).
Member of the European Parliament from 1994 to 1997.
Health Minister from 1997 to 1999. (under Lionel Jospin)
Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Kosovo from 1999 to 2001.
Health-Delegated Minister from 2001 to 2002.

Preceded by Claude Evin	French Minister of Health 1992–1993	Succeeded by Simone Veil
Preceded by Hervé Gaymard	French Minister of Health 1997–1999	Succeeded by Dominique Gillot
Preceded by Philippe Douste-Blazy	Minister of Foreign Affairs 2007 -	Succeeded by Incumbent

v • d • e First Fillon Cabinet
François Fillon \| Alain Juppé \| Bernard Kouchner \| Hervé Morin \| Michèle Alliot-Marie \| Brice Hortefeux \| Rachida Dati \| Jean-Louis Borloo \| Éric Wœrth \| Xavier Bertrand \| Christine Boutin \| Christine Lagarde \| Xavier Darcos \| Valérie Pécresse \| Christine Albanel \| Roselyne Bachelot

v • d • e Second Fillon Cabinet
François Fillon \| Jean-Louis Borloo \| Bernard Kouchner \| Hervé Morin \| Michèle Alliot-Marie \| Brice Hortefeux \| Rachida Dati \| Christine Lagarde \| Éric Wœrth \| Xavier Bertrand \| Christine Boutin \| Michel Barnier \| Xavier Darcos \| Valérie Pécresse \| Christine Albanel \| Roselyne Bachelot

v • d • e G8 Foreign Ministers
Maxime Bernier · Bernard Kouchner · Frank-Walter Steinmeier · Massimo D'Alema · Masahiko Kōmura · Sergey Lavrov · David Miliband · Condoleezza Rice