politician public administrator
Robert Lecou was born on July 25, 1950, in the 12th arrondissement of Paris. His parents were from Hérault, and he spent his childhood in Paris before pursuing his secondary and higher education in Montpellier. His background therefore connected the capital with the southern French department that later became the principal setting of his public career.
Lecou studied in Montpellier and earned a licence in history and geography at the University of Montpellier, now known as Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University. The institution developed from Montpellier's long-standing humanistic and scientific university tradition and became an important center for higher education in the Languedoc region.
He also completed legal training through the Institut de préparation à l'administration générale at the University of Montpellier 1. Montpellier 1 was historically associated with law, economics, medicine, and political and administrative preparation; it was later reorganized within the University of Montpellier. His education combined the humanities with preparation for public administration and local government.
Lecou began his professional career in territorial public administration. He served as secretary-general of the mairie of Saint-Brès and later as secretary-general of the mairie of Lodève, positions corresponding to the senior administrative management of municipal services. From 1976 to 1989 he was secretary-general of the mairie of Lodève before spending approximately three years directing a clinic in the town.
He entered elected local politics in Lodève as a municipal councillor in 1989 and became deputy mayor in 1990. Lodève, a historic town and subprefecture of Hérault, was the principal community associated with his public life. He was elected conseiller général for the canton of Lodève in 1994 and mayor of Lodève in 1995, winning reelection in 2001. As mayor, he also presided over the Communauté de communes du Lodévois from 1995 to 2008, extending his responsibilities from municipal administration to intercommunal cooperation.
Lecou first sought election to the National Assembly in 1997. He was elected deputy for the fourth constituency of Hérault on June 16, 2002, and reelected on June 17, 2007, serving through June 2012. The National Assembly is France's directly elected legislative chamber, responsible for debating and voting on laws, overseeing the government, and representing constituencies in national politics.
During his parliamentary service, Lecou belonged to the UMP group. He served on the Foreign Affairs Commission and later on the European Affairs Commission, acted as rapporteur on several international agreements, and participated in parliamentary friendship groups with European, African, and Mediterranean countries. His parliamentary work also included study groups concerned with agriculture, rural affairs, viticulture, regional languages, tourism, public service, and other territorial issues.
He lost the 2008 municipal election in Lodève to Marie-Christine Bousquet and the 2012 legislative election to Frédéric Roig. He subsequently remained associated with local public life as a municipal councillor and opposition figure in Lodève.
Lecou was elected mayor of Lodève in 1995 and reelected in 2001, leading the municipality for nearly thirteen years and also presiding over the Communauté de communes du Lodévois.
He was elected to the National Assembly in 2002 and reelected in 2007, representing the fourth constituency of Hérault for two legislative terms.
As a deputy, he served as rapporteur on parliamentary measures concerning international agreements involving Albania, Croatia, Israel, India, Gabon, and other subjects handled by the Foreign Affairs Commission.
Robert Lecou's political career developed within the French center-right. He was associated first with the Union for French Democracy and the Radical Party, serving as a local elected official and as a Radical Party vice-president, before joining the Union for a Popular Movement, the center-right party founded in 2002 to unite the principal supporters of Jacques Chirac and the presidential majority.
His political work combined local executive responsibilities with parliamentary service. He represented Lodève and the wider fourth constituency of Hérault as mayor, president of the Communauté de communes du Lodévois, conseiller général, and member of the National Assembly. In Parliament he belonged to the UMP group, served on the Foreign Affairs and European Affairs commissions, and participated in friendship groups and study groups dealing with European, Mediterranean, rural, agricultural, and regional issues.
