Gérard Larcher

Who is Gérard Larcher?

Gérard Larcher is a French politician who was President of the Senate of France from 2008 to 2011. A member of the center-right Union for a Popular Movement, he was a Senator for the Yvelines département from 1986 to 2004 and has been again since 2007.

Larcher was born in Flers, Orne to a Catholic family, but converted to Protestantism upon his marriage. He was a junior minister in the Ministry of Social Affairs and was the Mayor of Rambouillet from 1983 to 2004.

Following the September 2008 Senate elections, Larcher was endorsed for the position of President of the Senate by the majority UMP Parliamentary Group after a contest against former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. He was elected as President of the Senate on 1 October 2008 receiving 173 votes against 134 votes for Socialist candidate Jean-Pierre Bel.