France: From field hospitals to Quai d’Orsay’s

Sarkozy really wanted him in his team. First he offered Bernard Kouchner, the 67 year-old founder of Medicines sans Frontieres, the Immigration ministry and then the Foreign Affairs ministry. He wanted him despite his long left wing political career. In the end, Kouchner accepted: he will be the next tenent of Quai d?Orsay?s.

?The French doctor?, as he was nicknamed, is quite popular in France for his humanitarian and political engagement. In 1971 he founded Medicines sans Frontieres, after a humanitarian action in Biafra. In 1979, however, he abandoned the association due to disagreements with other co-founders and he created ?Medicines du monde?. A strong supporter of intervention in war contexts, he introduced the concept of ?humanitarian interference? for the first time. In 1992 he went to Somalia to help civilians during the war. In 2003 he criticized the French government for its position in the second Gulf war, even though he declared himself against invasion.

During his youth, Kouchner supported the PC party, also participating to the student protests in May ?68. He then joined the Socialist party. He became State secretary in Mitterandt?s first government as a representative of civil society and Minister of Health with Jospin. In the meantime he was also elected into the EU Parliament for Pse. In 1999 Jacques Chirac supported him in becoming a special representative of the UN Secretariat in Kosovo while in 2005 Kouchner represented the European Union in Sri Lanka, where he led the enquiry commission for the violation of human rights. During the last political campaign, he supported the socialist candidate Segolene Royal and that?s why she was so upset yesterday when she learned of Kouchner?s decision to become part of Sarkozy?s government.