Laurent Pierre Emmanuel Fabius (French: [lɔʁɑ̃ fabjys]; born 20 August 1946) is a French politician who has served in a number of capacities, most recently as president of the Constitutional Council from 2016 to 2025. A member of the Socialist Party, he previously served as Prime Minister of France from 17 July 1984 to 20 March 1986. Fabius was 37 years old when he was appointed and is, after Gabriel Attal, the second youngest prime minister of the Fifth Republic.
Fabius was also President of the National Assembly from 1988 to 1992 and again from 1997 to 2000. Fabius served in the government as Minister of Finance from 2000 to 2002 and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2016.
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Early life
Fabius was born in the affluent 16th arrondissement of Paris, the son of Louise (née Strasburger-Mortimer; 1911–2010) and André Fabius (1908–1984). He is the younger brother of Catherine Leterrier and François Fabius. His parents were from Ashkenazi Jewish families who converted to Catholicism. Fabius was raised a Catholic; he has three sons, David (born 1978) with his partner Christine d'Izarny Gargas, Thomas (born 1981) and Victor (born 1983) with his spouse, Françoise Castro.
Fabius' received secondary education at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly and Lycée Louis-le-Grand, where he was a pupil of Donald Adamson. Fabius then went up to institutions that are training grounds for academics (École normale supérieure), and senior civil servants and executives (Sciences Po, École nationale d'administration).
Political career
After his studies, Fabius became an auditor for the Council of State. A member of the Socialist Party (PS) since 1974, Fabius was first elected to the National Assembly in 1978 for the fourth constituency of Seine-Maritime. Fabius quickly gained entry to the circle of François Mitterrand, the leader of the party.
In Government: 1981–1984
When Mitterrand was elected as President of France in 1981, Fabius was nominated as Minister of the Budget. Two years later, Fabius became Minister of Industry, and pursued the policy of "industrial restructuring". In 1984, in a government shake-up, Mitterrand chose Fabius as prime minister (choosing Fabius over Pierre Bérégovoy and Jacques Delors). At the age of 37 he was the youngest French prime minister since 1819.
Prime Minister: 1984–1986
Fabius advocated a new kind of French socialism, which accepted democracy. It marked a shift away from traditional socialist concerns with state ownership and instead looked for ways to modernize industry, and increase productivity, even at the cost of some jobs. Fabius also worked to modernize the party's archaic structures. In social policy, a law of December 1984 replaced allowance for orphans with a family support allowance, and empowered family allowance funds to aid in recovery of child support when a parent fails to pay. The allowable income for recipients of the young child allowance was increased (July 1984) for families with three or more children. The Fabius Government also sought to reduce penalties on families with working mothers by substantially increasing the income ceiling for dual-income families receiving the young child allowance. A parental education fund was created (1985), which provided for payments to each person who stops work or reduces hours of work as a result of the birth of any child beyond the first two, for which the parent(s) is/are responsible. In 1985, as a means of upholding the rights of homosexuals, the penal code was amended to prohibit discrimination on the grounds of "moral habits" which included sexual orientation, which also secured the right to same-sex relationships.
A decree of 17 July 1984 set up an Immigrants' Council, which could be consulted on questions of concern to the immigrant population regarding living conditions, housing, work, employment, education, and training, as well as social and cultural activities. In November 1984, an allowance was introduced if the parent concerned had been employed for two or more years. Known as the "allocation parentale d'education," this allowance provided 1,000 francs per month for parents who decided to take two years of parental leave after the birth of their first child. The "allocation au jeune enfant," introduced in January 1985, was paid to all families at a flat rate for each child from the third month of pregnancy for nine months, regardless of the parents' income. Payment was to continue after this period for 8 out of 10 families for a further 32 months on a means-tested basis. In effect, this created a benefit for the first child in lower income families. The government, however, reduced the daily maternity allowance from 90% to 84% of the basic wage, while the reimbursement rate of so-called "comfort" medicinal products was also lowered.
In June 1985, a law was passed allowing first offenders who had committed petty crimes to serve sentences of six months or less in public-service jobs. A July 1985 law tripled the amount of aid for victims of crimes. Legislation was introduced later that year to restrict the use of preventive detention, and ensure that the rights of suspects were better protected.
Scandals as prime minister
The symbol of a modern French socialism, he was weakened by the "Infected blood scandal". His government was accused of having knowingly let doctors give haemophiliacs transfusions of blood infected by HIV. A judicial process similar to impeachment acquitted him of all personal moral responsibility in the matter.
After the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship, on 10 July 1985, Prime Minister Fabius summoned journalists to his office on 22 September 1985 to read a 200-word statement in which he said: "The truth is cruel," and acknowledged that "Agents of the French secret service sank this boat. They were acting on orders." He had previously denied that the bombers of the Rainbow Warrior were in the employ of the French secret service.
Further political career: 1986–2002
Fabius came to be seen as Lionel Jospin's rival to be Mitterrand's heir. He failed to win the First Secretaryship of the party in 1988 and 1990 (Rennes Congress) in spite of Mitterrand's support. Installed as President of the National Assembly in 1988 (at 41 years of age, the equal youngest in the history of the lower house).
In 1989, he was elected to the European Parliament where he served on the Committee on Institutional Affairs, while simultaneously remaining President of the National Assembly. He used this dual role to successfully propose the establishment of The Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC) - a conference of Members of Parliament (MPs) drawn from parliamentary committees responsible for European Union affairs in each national parliament and Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
He succeeded finally in becoming First Secretary of the party in 1992, but resigned after the Socialist disaster of the 1993 legislative election.
He came back as president of the National Assembly in 1997, then as Minister of Economy and Finance in Lionel Jospin's cabinet between 2000 and 2002. After Jospin's retirement, he hoped to return as Socialist leader but he failed. He declared that his mind was changed about a number of matters and he joined the left wing of the party.
Major figure of the Socialist Party: 2002–12
In this position he was the leader of the defeated No camp in the vote that took place among the members of his party on 1 December 2004, to decide the stance that the party would take on the impending referendum on the European Constitution. He went on to lead the rebel faction of the party advocating a no vote in the 2005 Referendum, and was seen as the spearhead of the whole no campaign in France. After the no vote won, the party leader gave an assurance that he could remain in the party though he was dismissed from the party's National Executive Committee.
Fabius was a candidate in the Socialist Party's primary to be the party's candidate in the 2007 presidential election, but finished third, behind Ségolène Royal, the winner, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn. He was subsequently re-elected to the National Assembly in the June 2007 parliamentary election.
Minister of Foreign Affairs: 2012–16
On 17 May 2012, Laurent Fabius became foreign minister in the government of Jean-Marc Ayrault, appointed prime minister by President François Hollande.
His mandate had three milestones:
he did not want to negotiate with President Bashar al-Assad to defeat what became ISIL,
he supported Syrian rebel groups, and
he reckoned that "Al-Nosra was doing a good job".
As foreign minister, Fabius was also chair of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference which took place in Paris. His way of engaging with all delegates to achieve a successful agreement has been described as crucial, and something that will make him "go down in history as one of the great diplomats".
President of the Constitutional Council: 2016–25
Fabius was chosen by President François Hollande to succeed Jean-Louis Debré as President of the Constitutional Council. The change became effective on 8 March 2016.
On 12 November 2023, he took part in the March for the Republic and Against Antisemitism in Paris in response to the rise in antisemitism since the start of the Gaza war.
Political offices
Président of the Constitutional Council: 2016–25
Governmental functions
Prime Minister: 1984–86
Minister of the Budget: 1981–83
Minister of Research and Industry: 1983–84
Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry: 2000–02
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development: 2012–16
Elected offices
Member of the European Parliament: 1989–92 (Resignation)
President of the National Assembly: 1988–92 (Resignation) / 1997–2000
Member of the National Assembly of France for Seine-Maritime: 1978–81 (2nd constituency) (Became minister in 1981) / 1986–2000 (1986–1988 proportional representation by department, 1988–2000 4th constituency, became minister in 2000) / 4th constituency; 2002–12 (Became minister in 2012). Elected in 1978, re-elected in 1981, 1986, 1988, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012. He was replaced by his substitute Guillaume Bachelay in 2012.
Regional councillor of Upper Normandy: 1992–95 (Resignation)
General councillor of Seine-Maritime: 2000–02 (Resignation)
Mayor of Le Grand-Quevilly: 1995–2000 (Resignation)
First Deputy Mayor of Le Grand-Quevilly: 1977–95 / 2000–12 (Resignation)
Municipal councillor of Le Grand-Quevilly: 1977–2016 (Resignation). Re-elected in 1983, 1989, 1995, 2001, 2008, 2014
Fabius's ministry, 17 July 1984 – 20 March 1986
Laurent Fabius – Prime Minister
Claude Cheysson – Minister of External Relations
Roland Dumas – Minister of European Affairs
Charles Hernu – Minister of Defence
Pierre Joxe – Minister of the Interior and Decentralization
Pierre Bérégovoy – Minister of Economy, Finance and Budget
Édith Cresson – Minister of Industrial Redeployment and External Commerce
Michel Delebarre – Minister of Labour, Employment and Vocational Training
Robert Badinter – Minister of Justice
Jean-Pierre Chevènement – Minister of National Education
Michel Rocard – Minister of Agriculture
Huguette Bouchardeau – Minister of Environment
Paul Quilès – Minister of Transport, Town Planning and Housing
Michel Crépeau – Minister of Commerce, Craft Industry and Tourism
Gaston Defferre – Minister of Planning and Regional Planning
Hubert Curien – Minister of Research and Technology
Georgina Dufoix – Minister of Social Affairs and National Solidarity.
Personal life
Fabius has declared over $7.9 million of assets, including a flat in Paris worth €2.7m and two country houses in Normandy and the Ariège. He has three children and was married to Françoise Castro from 1981 to 2002.
Honours
French national honours
Grand Cross of the French National Order of Merit (1984)
Grand Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honour (2017)
Foreign honors
Officer of the National Order of Quebec (1986)
Grand Cross of the Order of Infante D. Henrique (1987)
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1990)
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (1991)
Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (1995)
Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania (1999)
Commander with Cross with Star of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2012)
Grand Officer of the National Order of Mali (2013)
Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (2014)
Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (2015)
Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (2015)
Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (2022)