Jean-Pierre Bel

{{Short description|French politician (born 1951)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Jean-Pierre Bel | image = Jean-Pierre Bel (2012).JPG | office = President of the French Senate | term_start = 1 October 2011 | term_end = 30 September 2014 | predecessor = Gérard Larcher | successor = Gérard Larcher | office2 = Leader of the Opposition in the Senate | term_start2 = 1 October 2004 | term_end2 = 30 September 2011 | predecessor2 = Claude Estier | successor2 = Jean-Claude Gaudin | office3 = Senator for Ariège | term_start3 = 1 October 1998 | term_end3 = 30 September 2014 | predecessor3 = Germain Authié | successor3 = Alain Duran | birth_name = Jean-Pierre Marcel Louis Bel | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1951|12|30|df=yes}} | birth_place = Lavaur, France | death_date = | alma_mater = Toulouse 1 University Capitole | profession = Jurist | party = Revolutionary Communist League (1968{{endash}}1978)<br>Socialist Party (1983{{endash}}present) | website = | caption = Bel in 2011 }}

'''Jean-Pierre Marcel Louis Bel''' ({{IPA|fr|ʒɑ̃pjɛʁ bɛl}}; born 30 December 1951) is a French retired politician who served as President of the Senate from 2011 to 2014 (the sole left-winger under the Fifth Republic). From the Ariège department, Bel is a member of the Socialist Party; he was elected to the Senate in September 1998 and re-elected in September 2008. Bel presided over the Socialist group in the Senate from 2004 to 2011.

Following his Senate tenure, he was appointed in 2015 as President François Hollande's personal envoy for Latin America and the Caribbean.<ref>{{cite web |author=Ivan Valerio |title=Jean-Pierre Bel nommé «envoyé personnel» de Hollande pour l'Amérique latine |website=Le Figaro |date=2015-01-14 |pages= |url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/politique/le-scan/citations/2015/01/14/25002-20150114ARTFIG00476-jean-pierre-bel-nomme-envoye-personnel-de-hollande-pour-l-amerique-latine.php|language=fr}}</ref> He was instrumental in strengthening the ties with Cuba and Panama.<ref>{{cite web |author=David Revault d'Allonnes |title=A Cuba, Hollande tente la synthèse entre castrisme et business |website=Le Monde |date=2015-05-12 |pages= |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2015/05/12/a-cuba-hollande-tente-la-synthese-entre-castrisme-et-business_4631864_3222.html|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Gilles Sengès |title=Jean-Pierre Bel, l'ancien président du Sénat, qui connaît bien Raul (Castro) |website=L'Opinion |date=2016-02-01 |url=https://www.lopinion.fr/edition/international/jean-pierre-bel-l-ancien-president-senat-qui-connait-bien-raul-castro-95827 |access-date=2020-08-07|language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=2020-08-07 |date=2016-06-27 |language=es |title=Panamá y Francia trabajarán en fortalecer confianza mutua - Panama en France - Embajada de Panamá en Francia - Ambassade du Panama en France |url=https://embajadadepanamaenfrancia.fr/le-panama-et-la-france-vont-essayer-de-retablir-leur-confiance-mutuelle/ |website=Panama en France - Embajada de Panamá en Francia - Ambassade du Panama en France}}</ref>

==Early political career== Bel served as a member of the Regional Council of Midi-Pyrénées (1992{{endash}}1998) and General Council of Ariège (1998{{endash}}2001), and held the mayorship of Mijanès (1983{{endash}}1995) and Lavelanet (2001{{endash}}2008).

==President of the Senate== Following the September 2008 Senate election, Bel was the Socialist candidate for the post of President of the Senate on 1 October 2008, but because the right held a majority of seats in the Senate, he was defeated by Gérard Larcher. In the vote, he received 134 votes against 173 votes for Larcher.<ref>[http://www.senat.fr/seances/s200810/s20081001/s20081001001.html#Niv1_SOM8 "Séance du 1er octobre 2008 (compte rendu intégral des débats)"], Senate website {{in lang|fr}}.</ref>

The left won a Senate majority in the September 2011 Senate election, and Bel was elected as President of the Senate on 1 October 2011. He received 179 votes against 134 votes for the right's candidate, outgoing Senate President Larcher; a centrist, Valérie Létard, received 29 votes.<ref>Fabio Benedetti-Valentini, [https://archive.today/20120729121855/http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-02/french-senate-elects-jean-pierre-bel-first-socialist-president.html "French Senate Elects Jean-Pierre Bel First Socialist President"], Bloomberg, 2 October 2011.</ref>

His tenure as Senate President was marked by cuts to the body's operating budget.<ref>{{cite web|title=Les sénateurs décident de réduire leur train de vie|url=https://www.lepoint.fr/politique/les-senateurs-decident-de-reduire-leur-train-de-vie-06-03-2012-1438352_20.php|date=2012-03-06|language=fr|website=Le Point}}</ref> He retired at the September 2014 Senate election.<ref>{{cite web |author= |title= Sans regret, sans remords, pourquoi je ne serai plus candidat, par Jean-Pierre Bel |website=Le Monde |date=2014-03-05 |pages= |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2014/03/05/pourquoi-je-ne-serai-plus-candidat-par-jean-pierre-bel_4377945_823448.html|language=fr}}</ref>

==Honours== * Knight of the Legion of Honour (2015)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000030440152|title=Décret du 3 avril 2015 portant promotion et nomination|website=Légifrance|language=fr}}</ref>

==See also== *List of senators for Ariège

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.senat.fr/senfic/bel_jean_pierre98006p.html Page on the Senate website]

{{s-start}} {{s-off}} |- {{s-bef|rows=2|before=Claude Estier}} {{s-ttl|title=President of Socialist group in the Senate|years=2004–2011}} {{s-aft|rows=1|after=François Rebsamen}} |- {{s-ttl|title=Leader of the Opposition in the Senate|years=2004–2011}} {{s-aft|rows=1|after=Jean-Claude Gaudin}} |- {{s-bef|rows=1|before=Gérard Larcher}} {{s-ttl|title=President of the Senate|years=2011–2014}} {{s-aft|rows=1|after=Gérard Larcher}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bel, Jean-Pierre}} Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:People from Lavaur, Tarn Category:20th-century French jurists Category:Socialist Party (France) politicians Category:French senators of the Fifth Republic Category:Senators of Ariège (department) Category:Toulouse 1 University Capitole alumni Category:Presidents of the Senate (France) Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour Category:French general councillors Category:Regional councillors of France Category:Mayors of places in Occitania (administrative region) Category:French recipients of the Legion of Honour