In 1977, he assumed the position of Deputy Mayor of Lorient; one year later, at the age of 30, he became a member of the National Assembly for Morbihan. He served until 1993 and then again from 1997 until 2007.[5] He became Mayor of Lorient in 1981 and retained the office until 1988; he also served as Secretary of State for the Sea under President François Mitterrand from 1991 to 1992.
In the 2004 regional elections, leading the Bretagne à gauche, Bretagne pour tous (PS-PCF-PRG-Les Verts-UDB) list, he won 58.66% of the vote in the runoff and a total of 58 seats in the Regional Council of Brittany. He thus became President of the Regional Council of Brittany. In October 2010 he became President of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR).[6]
Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, 2017–2022
Le Drian with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 2021
Le Drian remained in office when the Second Philippe government was inaugurated; on 8 March 2018, he officially resigned from the Socialist Party.
In August 2019, Le Drian called on Hong Kong authorities to renew talks with Hong Kong protesters to find a peaceful solution to the then ongoing crisis.[10] On 9 October 2019, Le Drian condemned the unilateral Turkish operation in Northeastern Syria and declared that Turkey's military incursion "is jeopardising the anti-Islamic State coalition's security and humanitarian efforts and is a risk for the security of Europeans".[11]
The announcement of the AUKUS security pact between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia in September 2021 sparked a period of diplomatic tensions in French-American and French-Australian relations.[13] The French government received official notification from Australia that the Attack-class submarine project, involving a A$90 billion Australian contract to buy 12 French submarines,[14] was to be cancelled only a few hours before it was publicly announced.[15] In a joint statement, Le Drian and French armed forces ministerFlorence Parly expressed disappointment at Australia's decision to abandon their joint submarine program with France.[16][17] Le Drian further stated in a radio interview that the contract termination was a "stab in the back".[17] On 17 September, France recalled its ambassadors from Australia and the US.[14] Despite tension in the past, France had never before withdrawn its ambassador to the United States.[18]
Le Drian with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, 2021
In November 2021, in an interview with the newspaper Le Monde, Le Drian expressed concern about the economic predation weighing on African countries, pointing the finger at China and Russia: "Our competitors have no taboos or limits." According to Le Drian, Europeans must at all costs rebuild their relationship with the African continent.
Personal Envoy for Lebanon, 2023–present
In 2023, President Macron named Le Drian as his personal envoy for Lebanon.[19][20]
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