Ségolène Royal, Former Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party of France, to speak at the ICD House

Ségolène Royal is the President of the Poitou-Charentes Council Region of France, Deputy of the French National Assembly until 2007, and former Presidential Candidate for the Socialist Party of France in 2007. She was the first woman candidate to advance to the second round of voting, coming just short of the Presidency through attaining 46.94% of the vote. The ICD is pleased to welcome Mme. Royal as a speaker at "A World Without Walls: An International Congress on "Soft Power", Interdependence and Cultural Diplomacy."

Mme. Royal's education took place at  the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, as well as the École Nationale d'Administration, where her classmates included former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. Royal currently is one of the leading personalities in contemporary French politics, having begun her career as a conseiller in an administrative court, thereafter being recruited to the staff of Jacques Attali, adviser to French President Francois Mitterand. Her electoral political career began in 1988, with her unlikely election to the traditionally conservative Départment of Deux-Sèvres. Altogether, she served Deux-Sèvres for a total of 13 years between 1988 and 2007.  During her service, she was Minister of the Environment (1992-93), Minister of School Education (1997-2000), Minister of Family and Children (2000-01) and Minister of Family, Children, and Disabled Persons (2001-02). In 2004, she was elected President of the Poitou-Charentes Council Region, a position she continues to hold today. Mme. Royal is the author of 6 books, and has focused a large part of her career--political and otherwise--on the development of children and families.