Background
BETTENCOURT, André was born on April 21, 1919 in SaintMaurice-d’Etelan, Seine-Inférieure, France. Parents: Victor Bettencourt and Jeanne-Marie Bettencourt (née de Chalendar).
Diplomat General politician senator
BETTENCOURT, André was born on April 21, 1919 in SaintMaurice-d’Etelan, Seine-Inférieure, France. Parents: Victor Bettencourt and Jeanne-Marie Bettencourt (née de Chalendar).
SaintJoseph College, le Havre.
Departmental Councillor for Lillebonne, 1946, re-elected 1955, 1961, 1967 and 1973. Mayor of St-Maurice-d’Etelan. since 1965. Independent Deputy for Seine-Maritime, 1951-1958.
Secretary of State to President of the Council, responsible for co-ordination of Information under Mendès-France, 1954-1955. Deputy for Seine-Maritime, 5th constituency. Fécamp, 1958-1966; Vice-Chairman of Foreign Affairs Commission, 1962-1965.
Secretary of State for Transport under Georges Pompidou, 1966-1967. Independent Republican Deputy for SeineMaritime, 1968. Vice-President of National Federation of Independent Republicans, 1966-1971.
Minister for Industry, under Maurice Couve de Murville, 1968-1969. Minister of State to Prime Minister, responsible for the Plan and National and Regional Development, under Jacques Chaban-Delmas, 1969-1972. Interim responsibility for Ministry of Culture, 1969-1971.
Minister of State to Minister for Foreign Affairs, under Pierre Messmer, 1972-1973. Deputy for Seine-Maritime, 5th constituency: Fécamp, Bolbec, 1973-1977. Senator PR, then UREI for Seine-Maritime, since 1977.
Member of Regional Council for Haute-Normandie, re-elected 1986, and Chairman of Council, 1974-1981. Member of the Institute (Fine Arts Academy). Member of administrative board of Journal de la France Agricole, Paris.
Director of Courrier cauchois (journal), Yvetot. Chairman and Managing Director of Gesparal, since 1983.
In his youth, Bettencourt was a member of Louisiana Cagoule, a violent French fascist-leaning and anti-communist group. In the 1990s, Jean Frydman a shareholder and board member of L"Oréal"s film and television subsidiary Paravision, alleged that he had been sacked in 1989 as the senior management at L"Oréal sought to avoid an Arab boycott of firms with Jewish links. He was elected a member of the Académie des beaux-arts, one of the five academies of the Institut de France, as an unattached member on 23 March 1988.
Together, they have one daughter, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, who is a member of L"Oréal"s board of directors.
Spouse Liliane Schveller, 1950. Children: Françoise.