Xavier Bertrand
Xavier Bertrand (; born 21 March 1965) is a French politician who has been serving as president of the regional council of Hauts-de-France since the 2015 regional elections. Earlier in his career, Bertrand was Minister of Health from 2005 to 2007 in Dominique de Villepin's government under President Jacques Chirac, then served as Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Solidarity from 2007 to 2009 and as Minister of Labour, Employment and Health from 2010 to 2012. He played a leading role in Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign in 2007. He was a member of Union for a Popular Movement, later The Republicans, until 11 December 2017, when he announced that was "definitively leaving" the party after Laurent Wauquiez was elected the leader of the party. Early life and education Bertrand was born on 21 March 1965 in Châlons-sur-Marne, in the Marne département, of the Champagne-Ardenne région of France. He studied at the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, where he obtained a master's degree in public law, then a Diplôme d'Études Supérieures Spécialisées (DESS) in local administration. Bertrand began his professional life as an insurance agent. Political career Early beginnings At the age of sixteen, Bertrand volunteered for the Rally for the Republic