Fabienne Keller

Fabienne Keller (born 20 October 1959 in Sélestat, Bas-Rhin) is a French politician who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. She was previously the mayor (UDF^[1]) of Strasbourg, France, from March 2001 to March 2008.^[2][3]

Fabienne Keller
Quaestor of the European Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 20 January 2022 Serving with See List
Member of the European Parliament for France
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 July 2019
In office 17 June 2002 – 2 July 2002
Succeeded by	Nicole Fontaine
Member of the French Senate for Bas-Rhin
In office 21 February 2005 – 23 June 2019
In office 1 October 2004 – 26 November 2004
Mayor of Strasbourg
In office 19 March 2001 – 22 March 2008
Preceded by	Catherine Trautmann
Succeeded by	Roland Ries
Member of the Bas-Rhin's Departmental council for Canton of Strasbourg-8
In office 29 March 1992 – 18 March 2001
Personal details
Born	(1959-10-20) 20 October 1959 (age 65) Sélestat, France
Political party	Renaissance
Education	Lycée Kléber
Alma mater	École Polytechnique

Education

Keller studied at the École Polytechnique (X 1979) and the National School of Rural Engineering, Water and Forestry. She also graduated with a Masters in Economics from Berkeley.^[4] She undertook her military service in the intelligence service of the Mediterranean navy and remains a reserve Lieutenant Commander.

Early career

Keller began her career at the Ministry of Agriculture between 1985 and 1988 and was responsible for the management of the French cereal market, moving on to the Ministry of Finance (Treasury Department), where she was responsible for funding agriculture and fisheries.

In 1989, Keller was appointed CEO to the CIAL bank (Crédit Industriel d'Alsace Lorraine), and then, in 1996, General Manager of Crédit Commercial de France (CCF), which she left in 2001, the year of her election as mayor of Strasbourg.

Political career

Career in national politics

In addition to her work in local politics, Keller served on the Senate from 2005 until 2019. In this capacity, she made headlines when she voted against her party's line and supported 2013 legislation introducing same-sex marriage in France.^[5] She also wrote a 2018 report about congestion pricing in London and Stockholm, which formed the basis for legislation making it easier for cities to introduce congestion pricing in a bid to reduce traffic jams and air pollution.^[6]

In the Republicans' 2016 presidential primaries, Keller endorsed Alain Juppé as the party's candidate for the office of President of France.^[7] In November 2017, she co-founded Agir.^[8] Under the leadership of party chairman Franck Riester, she has since been serving as deputy chair alongside Frédéric Lefebvre, Laure de La Raudière and Claude Malhuret. She eventually left The Republicans in early 2018.^[9]

Member of the European Parliament, 2019–present

Since becoming a Member of the European Parliament, Keller has been serving on the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. In addition to her committee assignments, she is part of the Parliament's delegations for relations with the Mashreq countries and to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean. She is also a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children's Rights,^[10] the URBAN Intergroup^[11] and the MEPs Against Cancer group.^[12]

In 2022, Keller became a quaestor of the European Parliament, making her part of the Parliament's leadership under President Roberta Metsola.^[13] On 17 September, Agir merged into La Republique en Marche as it reformed and rebranded under the name Renaissance, which she joined.^[14]

Following the 2024 European Parliament election in France, she retained her seat.^[15]

Other activities

• French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), Member of the Board of Directors^[16]
• French Development Agency (AFD), Member of the Board of Directors
• Haute école des arts du Rhin (HEAR), Member of the Board of Director
• Robert Schuman Foundation, Member of the Board of Directors^[17]

References

1. Hoffmann-Martinot, Vincent; Hellmut Wollmann (2006). State and local government reforms in France and Germany: divergence and convergence. VS Verlag. p. 240. ISBN 978-3-531-14596-9. Retrieved 20 December 2010.
2. Ohana, Yael (2005). "How big is your world?": the Europe, Youth and Globalisation event : an anthology, Volume 2004. Council of Europe. p. 37. ISBN 978-92-871-5727-0.
3. Vetter, Angelika (2003). Reforming local government in Europe: closing the gap between democracy and efficiency. VS Verlag. p. 171. ISBN 978-3-8100-3958-3.
4. Kristol, William (2005). The weekly standard: a reader: 1995-2005. HarperCollins. p. 290. ISBN 978-0-06-085274-0.
5. Sénatrice de l'opposition, je voterai en faveur du texte sur le mariage pour tous L'Obs, March 1, 2013.
6. Geert De Clercq (October 18, 2018), France to allow congestion pricing in bid to reduce traffic jams Reuters.
7. Ludovic Vigogne (April 20, 2016), Bataillons: Primaire à droite: la liste des premiers soutiens parlementaires L'Opinion.
8. Emmanuel Galiero (March 31, 2018), Europe : les Constructifs vantent l'axe Juppé-Macron Le Figaro.
9. Guillaume Jacquot (February 23, 2018), La sénatrice Fabienne Keller quitte à son tour Les Républicains Public Sénat.
10. Intergroup on Children's Rights European Parliament.
11. Members URBAN Intergroup.
12. MAC MEPs in the 2019-24 legislature Archived 2020-02-02 at the Wayback Machine MEPs Against Cancer.
13. Nisa Khan (21 January 2022), Movers & Shakers The Parliament Magazine.
14. Goar, Matthieu (September 17, 2022). "Renaissance, Emmanuel Macron's smaller-than-expected new party". Le Monde.
15. "Européennes 2024 : qui sont les 81 députés français élus au Parlement ?". Le Monde.fr (in French). 10 June 2024. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
16. Board of Directors Archived 2020-10-02 at the Wayback Machine French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA).
17. Board of Directors Robert Schuman Foundation.