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In brief

Prince Albert II chooses next head of government

Pierre Dartout
Prefect of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur

Prince Albert II of Monaco has chosen Pierre Dartout to become the next head of the Prince’s Government, according to Palace representatives. The prefect of the French region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (PACA) will replace Serge Telle, who has been Minister of State since February 2016. The Sovereign is yet to announce the appointment officially.

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As Monaco’s new Minister of State, Pierre Dartout, 66, will be responsible for presenting bills to Prince Albert II and directing the administration of the Principality. This post is typically reserved for a senior French civil servant, with the French presidential palace submitting a list to the Prince of names they deem suitable for the role. The Sovereign has already met Pierre Dartout during engagements in the PACA region. “The prefect of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur was one of the figures that the Sovereign had imagined as Minister of State”, stated the Prince’s Palace to Monaco Matin.

Pierre Dartout

Born in 1954 in Limoges, Pierre Dartout has held numerous prefectural posts in France for a quarter of a century. Before taking up his position in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Pierre Dartout was prefect of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, the prefect for defence and security for the South-West region, and prefect of La Gironde in 2015. He graduated in the 1980 class at the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (National School of Administration), the most prestigious school for those entering into the French civil service. He was prefect of French Guiana between 1995 and 1997, the Eastern Pyrenees between 1998 and 2000, and the Var region in 2004.

According to the financial newspaper Les Echos, Dartout is due to take up the post at the beginning of September, “the Élysée (presidential palace) wanting him to remain as prefect of the PACA region and Bouches-du-Rhône during the critical period that is ending lockdown.”