Najat Vallaud Belkacem

Najat & elder sister in Primary School in Amiens (published in The Nouvel Obs magazine in 2014 (Private collection))

My student Chloe Dehedin wrote the following story: "Najat Vallaud-Belkacem is the Education Minister of France. She was born on the 4th of October, 1977 in Morocco. Her origins are Moroccan, Algerian and Spanish. In 1982, she came to France with her mother and elder sister to re-unite with their father and husband who had immigrated earlier. He was a construction worker.

She grew up in Abbeville, then the family moved to Amiens, the capital of Picardy about 10 and 40 miles away from our school (the topic of this essay was Inspiring people near my school). She attended the Lycee Delambre and passed her Baccalaureat (the French High-school degree). She decided to become a French citizen at 18 years old. After law school in Amiens, she got in the prestigious Political Studies School of Paris in 2000. She is married and the mother of twins called Louis-Adel and Nour-Chloe, born in 2008.

Najat Vallaud Belkacem began her professional life as a lawyer in a Parisian law office, then at the Court of Appeals for three years. She joined the Socialist Party in 2002 where she led actions to strengthen Democracy against social and racial discrimination and fought for women's rights. On May 16, 2012, Najat Vallaud Belkacem was appointed Secretary for Women's Rights and the Government Spokesperson. She has been Secretary for Secondary Education, Higher Education and Research, since August 2016.

Visiting her former living place in Amiens in 2014 (published in La Croix newspaper in 2014 (La Croix photo reporter))

I chose Najat Vallaud Belkacem because she lived in my region and because she is now in charge of my school and of all the schools in my country. She was socially very mobile and made her life successful."