Patrick Devedjian, President of the Hauts-de-Seine department, died on the night of Saturday March 28 to Sunday March 29, from Covid-19. The 75-year-old politician, lawyer by profession, was minister to Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, but also first secretary of the UMP. Back on his political journey.

Diagnosed positive for coronavirus, the 75-year-old politician was placed under observation, Wednesday, in a hospital in Hauts-de-Seine. Thursday, Patrick Devedjian had indicated in a tweet to be "affected by the epidemic, therefore able to testify directly to the exceptional work of doctors and all caregivers". The former minister, married and father of four, finally died on the night of Saturday to Sunday.

Patrick Devedjian, former Minister, Chairman of the Hauts-de-Seine Department, hospitalized after being diagnosed with Covid-19, died on the night of Saturday March 28 to Sunday March 29.
Press release: https://t.co/Vu0dllFu3K

- Hauts-de-Seine (@hautsdeseinefr) March 29, 2020

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Armenian refugee son, resolute anticommunist

Born August 26, 1944 in Fontainebleau, Seine-et-Marne, Patrick Devedjian is the son of an Armenian refugee who arrived in France in 1919. A resolute anti-communist, he campaigned in the West (far right) between 1963 and 1966. "I never hid from my past, "he explained in 2005 to Le Monde . "I was of Armenian origin and it was also a way for me to feel French."

A lawyer by profession - he will notably defend Jacques Chirac and Charles Pasqua - Patrick Devedjian has held many political offices. He began his career in front of the Mayor of Antony, under the label of the Rassemblement Pour la République (RPR). A function he kept for 19 years, from 1983 to 2002. He then devoted himself to the modernization of this city - where he lived until his death.

The "first Sarkozyst" of a Chiraquian government

In addition to his mandate as mayor, Patrick Devedjian was, from 1986 to 2017, deputy for the 13th district of Hauts-de-Seine. He chaired the department until today. He was also spokesperson for the RPR from 1999 to 2001 and held several government positions during the five-year term of Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.

"I am the first Sarkozyst of the government": so he described himself when he was Minister Delegate for Industry, in 2005 in the very Chiraquian government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin. However, after being ousted from the government in May 2005, this liberal suffered another disappointment: with the accession of Nicolas Sarkozy to the Elysée Palace, he was not part of the Fillon government, open to centrists and to the left.

Clean the "Augia nuts" from Hauts-de-Seine

This lawyer dreamed of the Ministry of Justice, which had already escaped him in 2002, when he was appointed Minister Delegate for Local Liberties. "I am to go very far in the opening, very far, including to the Sarkozysts," he quipped in mid-May 2007. He joined the Fillon government a year later to take care of the recovery plan launched in response to the financial crisis.

In September 2007, he was elected secretary general of the UMP, a difficult task while Nicolas Sarkozy kept behind the scenes the upper hand on the party. This independent spirit declares the following year wanting to clean "the stables of Augias" from Hauts-de-Seine, a department with a sulphurous reputation which he took over in June 2007 to replace Nicolas Sarkozy, and where he is accused mostly authoritarian management.

Many tributes from the political class

Moved by the announcement of his death, many political figures on Sunday pay tribute to this man, who died prematurely. "It is a great sadness to learn of the death of Patrick Devedjian. A brave man who is totally devoted to his city of Antony and to the Hauts-de-Seine," comments Senate President Gérard Larcher on Twitter.

The president of the Ile-de-France region Valérie Pécresse, says she is "upset" by the news. "Patrick Devedjian was an exceptional personality by his personality, his convictions and his immense culture. He left his mark on both his Hauts-de-Seine department and the country.", She tweeted.

Patrick Devedjian was an exceptional personality through his personality, his convictions and his immense culture. It left its mark on both its Hauts-de-Seine department and the country. Upset I think of Sophie, his wife & his sons. https://t.co/of1HOR9wLW

- Valérie Pécresse (@vpecresse) March 29, 2020

The mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo also reacted: "It is an immense sadness, I extend my condolences to his wife and his family. I think of our Armenian friends who today lose one of their brothers. "

It is an immense sadness, I extend my condolences to his wife and family. I think of our Armenian friends who are losing one of their brothers today. https://t.co/YDn8H9gCm3

- Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) March 29, 2020

The president of LR Christian Jacob told AFP his "great sadness" and "a lot of emotion": "He was a great servant of France, who held several ministerial posts, a great servant of his department Hauts-de-Seine also and his town of Antony. Patrick Devedjian was a remarkable figure and a personality of our political family and I think of his family and his close relations ".