A specialist in French institutional affairs and a former lawyer, Jean-Marie Bockel has held various elected positions, including serving as Mayor of Mulhouse for 21 years, Member of Parliament for the Haut-Rhin from 1981 to 2002, and Senator for the Haut-Rhin from 2004 to 2020, before joining the consulting firm TILDER.
His on-the-ground experience led him to assume ministerial responsibilities: he served as Minister for Trade, Crafts and Tourism, and later as Secretary of State for Cooperation and Francophonie, for Defence, and for Justice. He was also a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and the Armed Forces, as well as a delegate to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.
Throughout his political career, he advocated for greater local autonomy by supporting expanded powers for local governments and deeper decentralisation. Driven by strong personal convictions, he has long promoted closer ties between civil society and the defence community. From March 2008 to June 2009, he served as Secretary of State for Defence and Veterans Affairs. He also works to support wounded soldiers and the families of those killed in French military operations, both abroad and domestically. Since 2020, he has chaired the association Solidarité Défense, a public-interest organisation that provides moral and material support to French soldiers in operation and organises hospital visits.
Jean-Marie Bockel chaired the Independent National Commission on the Harkis (CNIH) from 2022 to 2024. From 2024 to 2025, he served as the personal envoy of the President of the Republic for Africa.
He holds a Master’s degree in Private Law and the French legal qualification CAPA.
