Sanofi has appointed Xavier Darcos as President of the Sanofi Espoir Foundation, who succeeds Jean-François Dehecq.
Xavier Darcos
Under Dehecq’s Presidency, According to the words of Chief Executive Officer Sanofi, Olivier Brandicourt, the Foundation acquired a status which has placed it amongst the best, notably for its activities in the developing countries.
Commenting the new appointment, Brandicour said: “I am convinced that Xavier Darcos will continue with the work already accomplished. The task remains huge, since the needs for prevention and for access to care and information are significant in the field of global health.”
Sanofi Espoir Foundation aims to contribute to reducing inequalities in health and poverty, which put a strain on the development of many countries. At the end of 2014, the Foundation coordinated 58 development aid programs in 41 countries.
Xavier Darcos said that presiding over the Sanofi Espoir Foundation would be a great honor for him.
He said he would use his experience as ambassador to promote the Foundation’s actions in terms of international solidarity.
“The nobleness of these commitments in favor of access to healthcare for the most defenseless populations and the results obtained make the Foundation all the more remarkable,” said the French academic, civil servant and politician Darcos.
Biography of Xavier Darcos
Darcos has been Senator and Mayor of Périgueux, Minister of School Education from 2002 to 2004, then Minister of Development, Cooperation and Francophony from 2004 to 2005, Minister of National Education from 2007 to 2009, and then Minister of Labor, Social Affairs, Family, Solidarity and Cities from 2009 to 2010.
Xavier Darcos has also been an ambassador, representing France with the OECD from 2005 to 2007, then ambassador for France’s foreign cultural policy and, in this capacity, Executive President of the French Institute from June 2010 to January 2015. Since February 2015, he has been ambassador for French people living abroad.
As a man of the arts and a scholar, Xavier Darcos has been, since October 2010, Permanent Secretary of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques [Academy of Moral and Political Sciences] to which he was elected in 2006. Since June 2013, he has been a member of the Académie française [French Academy].