Christiane Taubira

Who is Christiane Taubira?

Christiane Taubira or Christiane Taubira-Delannon is a French politician who on 15 May 2012, was appointed Minister of Justice of France in the new Ayrault government under President François Hollande.

She studied at Panthéon-Assas University.

Having served as president of her party Walwari, Taubira from 1993 served as a deputy at the French National Assembly, and was re-elected in 1997. Non-affiliated in 1993, she then voted for the investiture of the conservative Edouard Balladur cabinet of ministers in 1993. In 1994, she became a Member of the European Parliament, being the fourth on the Énergie Radicale list led by Bernard Tapie. In June 1997, she then joined the Socialist Party, and then-Prime Minister Lionel Jospin commissioned her for a report on gold search in Guiana.

Christiane Taubira was the driving force behind a 21 May 2001 law that recognises the Atlantic slave trade and slavery as a crime against humanity. In 2002, she was a Left Radical Party candidate for the presidency, although she did not belong to the party. She gained 2.32% of the votes. After 2002, she became vice-president of the Left Radical Party.