Member of the Union for a Popular Movement who held office as the Minister of Justice from 2010 to 2012. He was twice elected Senator before being named Minister of Rural Areas and Spatial Planning in 2009.
He earned a degree in Law from Lyon IEP before starting his political career in the 1990s.
He was decorated as a Knight of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre by the Roman Catholic Church.
He was raised in Bourg-de-Thizy, France.
He was replaced as Minister of Justice after Nicolas Sarkozy lost the 2012 presidential election.
