In 2024, Danjean was appointed a special adviser to Prime Minister Michel Barnier.[2]
Early life and education
Danjean graduated in 1992 from Sciences Po with a degree in communication, research and human resource, and completed his curriculum in 1993 with a postgraduate diploma in political science and international relations at Sciences Po.
Professional career
At the Ministry of Defence
After completing his military service as a reserve officer at the submarine base of Toulon, Danjean passed an examination to join the French DGSE as a civil servant. He carried out numerous missions in Sarajevo in 1995 and 1996, especially during the Siege of Sarajevo and the signature of the Dayton Agreement. He became a permanent member of the French Embassy in Sarajevo from June 1996 to September 1998.
In 2005, Danjean joined the staff of Minister of Foreign Affairs Michel Barnier where he was in charge of the Balkans and Afghanistan. He remained in office from July 2005 to March 2007 under the tenure of Barnier's successor Philippe Douste-Blazy.
Political career
Early beginnings
Danjean stood for election at the 2007 legislative election in the Bresse region against the incumbent Socialist Arnaud Montebourg in the 6th constituency of the Saône-et-Loire department. He was defeated by less than 400 second-round votes after leading the first round with 44% of the vote against 41.3% for Montebourg.
He spent an extended stay in the United States at the end of 2007 in the framework of a German Marshall Fund course.
Member of the European Parliament, 2009–2024
Danjean speaking in the European Parliament in 2022
Following the 2019 elections, Danjean was part of a cross-party working group in charge of drafting the European Parliament's four-year work programme on foreign policy.[8]
He welcomed François Hollande's decision to engage the French Armed Forces in response to the armed groups' offensive in Northern Mali on 11 January 2013, an action he called "inevitable, justified and legitimate" according to the circumstances and international law.[11] He however regretted the inertia of the European Union despite a vote on a strategy for Sahel as soon as 2011, and criticised the inability of the French Government to involve other European countries which he sees as a consequence of the precipitate withdrawal of French troops from Afghanistan.[12]
In 2015, Danjean warned fellow French conservatives against being soft on Russia, arguing that "through the fascination for Putin, there is a real philosophical and ideological pull-back, namely a rejection of political liberalism."[13]
He published in January 2013 an article in the Revue défense nationale: "Entre tentation du repli et fatalisme du déclin : l'Europe face à ses responsabilités" (Between the temptation of retreat and the fatalism of decline: Europe facing its responsibilities).[18]
Decorations
Decorated Chevalier de l'Ordre national du Mérite in May 2000 (decoration awarded by the President of the Republic, Jacques Chirac, and pinned in December 2000 by the Minister of Defence Alain Richard).
