, Royal, Ségolène << roy ahl, seh goh lehn >> (1953-…), is a French politician. She was the Socialist Party’s candidate for president in 2007. However, she lost the presidential elections to Nicolas Sarkozy of the Union for a Popular Movement (known by its French initials, UMP).
Royal was a long-time member of the French National Assembly, representing the Deux-Sèvres metropolitan department within the Poitou-Charentes region of France. She also has been president of the Poitou-Charentes region since 2004. In this position, she has promoted participative democracy, in which citizens have a more active participation in decision-making within the government. Throughout her political career, Royal has supported reforms in child welfare, education, family values, and rights for people with disabilities.
Marie-Ségolène Royal was born on Sept. 22, 1953, in Dakar, Senegal, then a French territory where her father was serving in the military. She grew up in the Lorraine region of France. She earned degrees at the Institute of Political Studies and the National School of Administration, both in Paris. In the French government, Royal has held such posts as minister of the environment, deputy minister for education, deputy minister for family and childhood, and deputy minister for family and childhood and handicapped persons. In 2014, she became the minister for ecology, sustainable development, and energy.
