Jean Messiha

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Jean Messiha
Jean Messiha en uniforme de cérémonie.jpg
Jean Messiha
Born
Hossam Boutros Messiha

(1970-09-10) 10 September 1970 (age 50)
Cairo, Egypt
NationalityFrench
Alma materSciences Po
École nationale d'administration
OccupationEconomist, civil servant, political advisor, commentator
Political partyNational Rally (2016–2020)
Independent (2020–present)

Jean Messiha (born Hossam Boutros Messiha, Arabic: حسام بطرس مسيحة‎‎, 10 September 1970) is an Egyptian-born French economist and politician. A former senior civil servant at the Ministry of Defence, he joined the National Front (FN) in 2016, when he became spokesman of Horaces, a group of high-ranking civil servants and business executives who meet once a month to discuss the party platform. He stood as a candidate in the 2017 legislative election in the 4th constituency of Aisne. In 2020, he left the party to assume the presidency of the newly-founded Apollon Institute, a far right think tank.[1]

Early life[]

Messiha was born Hossam Boutros Messiha in 1970 in Cairo, Egypt, to a family of Coptic Christians;[2] his father was a diplomat.[3][4] He lived in Bogotá, Colombia from the age of 3 to 7.[2] At the age of 8, he arrived with his family in France, reportedly "not speaking a word of French". He then grew up in Mulhouse.[3][4] In 1990, upon his naturalisation as a French citizen, he changed his first name to Jean.

Messiha graduated from Sciences Po, where one of his professors was Henri Guaino.[2] He earned a PhD in Economics.[3][2] His thesis was about the budgetary policies of the Maastricht Treaty and Amsterdam Treaty.[2] He graduated from the École nationale d'administration in 2005.[4]

Career[]

Messiha began his career as a high-ranking civil servant in 2005.[4] He was appointed as Deputy Undersecretary of Management at the Ministry of Defence in 2014.[4]

Messiha became an advisor to National Rally leader Marine Le Pen in 2014.[4] In May 2016, he became the spokesman of the "Horaces", a group of high-ranking civil servants and business executives, supporting Marine Le Pen, who meet once a month and discuss the political platform of the National Rally.[4][3][5] While the group announces more than 155 members, Messiha is the only one whose name has been publicly known so far.[5] According to Dominique Albertini of Libération, Messiha's role within the National Rally is to represent "the drawing power of [the party] towards high-ranking civil servants".[4]

Messiha has asserted his belief in Renaud Camus's Great Replacement conspiracy theory, whereby Christian populations are being "replaced" through non-European immigration, specifically from Muslim and African countries.[3] On social media, he has expressed that Islam is at odds with France's republican system.[3] He is also a critic of the European Union.[2]

A candidate in the 2017 French legislative election to represent Aisne's 4th constituency in the National Assembly,[3][5] Messiha was defeated in the second round by La République En Marche! candidate Marc Delatte, with 43.73% of valid votes against Delatte's 56.27%.[6]

In November 2020, several news outlets reported that Messiha was going to leave the National Rally.[7][8][9] This was later confirmed by Messiha, who announced his departure in an interview published in Valeurs Actuelles.[10]

In March 2021, Jean Messiha made the headlines[citation needed] in affirming the existence of a "black privilege" during the 46th César Awards. [11][better source needed]

Personal life[]

Messiha became a naturalized French citizen at the age of 20,[12] changing his first name to "Jean" in the process.[4] He has described himself as a "naturalized ethnic Frenchman" (French: Français de souche par naturalisation)[3] and "Arab outside, French inside".[4] In February 2017, he was surprised to learn that, in spite of his naturalization, he was still considered an immigrant by the national statistics bureau of France, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE).[12]

References[]

  1. ^ "Génération identitaire, au cœur de l'ultradroite décomplexée". leparisien.fr (in French). 26 March 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Folch, Arnaud (12 February 2017). "Jean Messiha : l'autre énarque de Marine Le Pen". Valeurs actuelles. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Messiha, un haut fonctionnaire en charge du projet de Marine Le Pen". Le Point. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j Albertini, Dominique (10 February 2017). "Jean Messiha, un cadre atypique au FN". Libération. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c Hausalter, Louis (17 April 2017). "Jean Messiha, le nouveau techno de Marine Le Pen". Marianne. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  6. ^ "2017 legislative election results for Aisne's 4th constituency". www.interieur.gouv.fr (in French). 18 June 2017. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Rassemblement national : Jean Messiha quitte le parti". Le Point (in French). 4 November 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  8. ^ Laubacher, Paul (3 November 2020). "Jean Messiha va quitter le RN". L'Obs (in French). Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  9. ^ Sapin, Charles (3 November 2020). "Jean Messiha claque la porte du RN". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  10. ^ Denis, Tugdual (3 November 2020). "Jean Messiha : "Pourquoi je quitte le Rassemblement national"". Valeurs Actuelles (in French). Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  11. ^ ""Il y a un privilège noir" : Jean Messiha dérape sur les César, et s'en prend à Jean-Pascal Zadi, chez Pascal Praud !".
  12. ^ Jump up to: a b "Quand "Libé" apprend à un porte-parole du FN qu'il est immigré". Les Inrocks. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
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