Ayrault, Jean-Marc

Ayrault, Jean-Marc zhäN-märk āˈrō [key], 1950–, French politician. The son of a textile worker, he graduated (1971) from Nantes Univ. Obtaining (1972) his teaching diploma, from 1973 to 1986 he taught German at Saint-Herblain in W France, and also served as the town's mayor from 1977 to 1989. A member of the Socialist party from 1971, he was elected to the National Assembly in 1986 and served as head of his party's parliamentary bloc from 1997. For many years (1989–2012), Ayrault also was mayor of Nantes. He acted as special campaign adviser to François Hollande in his run for the French presidency, and after Hollande's victory in 2012, Ayrault was named premier. He stepped down in 2014 after the Socialists suffered losses in local elections. In 2016 he was appointed foreign minister.

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