Jack Lang

About Jack Lang

Instead of running for president, the politician and diplomat Jack Lang was re-elected as deputy for the sixth constituency of Pas-de-Calais in the second round of the 2007 legislative elections. As a “special envoy” of Nicolas Sarkozy, he traveled to Cuba on February 25, 2009, to revive Franco-Cuban dialogue, and on October 1 to North Korea to explore a possible resumption of diplomatic relations between Paris and Pyongyang.

In the spring of 2009, he supported the Hadopi bill (promoting the dissemination and protection of creation on the internet), disagreeing with the deputies of his group present during the debates. Despite this stance, he did not participate in the debates of the National Assembly at any time.

His Career

A law student in Nancy and concurrently at Sciences Po Paris, and passionate about theater, Jack Lang created the university theater festival in Nancy in 1963, which he presided over until 1977. Graduating from the Institute of Political Studies in Paris in 1961, he obtained his doctorate in law in 1967 from the University of Nancy. In 1972, he was called by President Georges Pompidou to head the Chaillot Theater. He joined the Socialist Party in 1977 and became the national secretary for culture in 1979. He was revealed to the general public in 1981 when he was appointed Minister of Culture, a position he held for ten years under all the socialist governments of François Mitterrand’s two seven-year terms.

His ministerial career in brief: 1981 Minister of Culture, 1988 Minister of Culture, Communication, Major Works, and the Bicentennial, 1992 Minister of State, National Education and Culture, 2000-2002 Minister of National Education.