About Dominique de Villepin
Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin (French pronunciation: [dɔminik maʁi fʁɑ̃swa ʁəne ɡaluzo də vilpɛ̃]; born 14 November 1953) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2005 to 2007 under President Jacques Chirac. In his career working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, De Villepin rose through the ranks of the French right as one of Chirac's protégés. He came into the international spotlight as Minister of Foreign Affairs with his opposition to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, one year after his appointment to the office, which culminated with a speech to the United Nations. Before his tenure as prime minister, he also served as Minister of the Interior (2004–2005). After being replaced by François Fillon as prime minister, De Villepin was indicted in connection with the Clearstream affair; he was subsequently cleared of charges of complicity in allowing false accusations to proceed against presidential rival Nicolas Sarkozy regarding bribes paid on a sale of warships to Taiwan. De Villepin enjoyed a modest return to public favour (from the left-wing to far-left) for his public critique of President Sarkozy's style of "imperial rule". De Villepin has written poetry, a book about poetry, and several historical and political essays, along with a study of Napoleon. He is an honorary member of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation. On the first day of the civil trial for his part in the Clearstream affair, Villepin accused President Sarkozy of pursuing him for political reasons. Villepin then became director of Chirac's successful 1995 presidential campaign and was rewarded with the key job of Secretary-General of the Élysée Palace during Chirac's first term as President of the Republic (1995–2002). While Sarkozy created the French Council of the Muslim Faith as the official representative of Muslims in France, Villepin would have preferred a "Muslim foundation", in which mosque-based representatives would be balanced by secular Muslims.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.