Michel Barnier

For the 2020 Trade deal negotiation between the UK and EU, Barnier is the main negotiator, who received his negotiating mandate from the European Council on 25 February 2020.

In 2016, the French investigating judge Sabine Kheris requested that the case of Michel Barnier, Dominique de Villepin and Michèle Alliot-Marie be referred to the Court of Justice of the Republic. These former ministers were suspected of having allowed the exfiltration of the mercenaries responsible for the attack on the Bouaké camp in 2004, killing nine French soldiers. The operation was allegedly intended to justify a response operation against the Laurent Gbagbo government in the context of the 2004 crisis in Ivory Coast.

On 27 July 2016, he was announced as the European Commission's chief negotiator with the United Kingdom over leaving the European Union, under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. Commenting on the appointment, Juncker said: "I wanted an experienced politician for this difficult job."

From 2015, Barnier served as unpaid special adviser on European defence policy to President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker.

He was twice appointed Acting Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship in Antonio Tajani's stead, from 19 April 2014 to 25 May 2014 while he was on electoral campaign leave for the 2014 elections to the European Parliament and from 1 July 2014 to 16 July 2014 after he took up his seat.

As European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services, Barnier handled many important issues, such as the reform of the financial sector (40 pieces of legislation between 2010 and 2014), the banking union (starting with the Single Supervisory Mechanism) and the digital single market.

European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services 2010–2014

Barnier led the UMP list in Ile-de-France for the 2009 European Parliament election. In February 2010 he was confirmed as European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services. In charge of European banking system reform, he argued for a "coherent single market with intelligent rules that apply everywhere".

Member of European Parliament 2009–2010 (resignation)

Barnier was appointed minister for agriculture in the Government of France on 18 June 2007, stepping down on 7 June 2009 upon his election as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP). He served as European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services under Barroso. On 1 October 2016, the European Commission appointed him as its chief Brexit negotiator under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU).

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries 2007–2009

In March 2006, Barnier was elected vice president of the European People's Party (EPP) for a three-year term. Under Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency, upon the reshuffle of the French cabinet, caused by the resignation of Alain Juppé after the 2007 French legislative election, he re-joined the French Cabinet as Minister of Agriculture.

Barnier worked in 2006 as a special adviser to José Manuel Barroso, the then President of the European Commission, and presented a report to the Council of Ministers proposing the creation of a European civil-protection force. In 2006–2007, he served as member of the Amato Group, a group of high-level European politicians unofficially working on rewriting the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe into what became known as the Treaty of Lisbon following its rejection by French and Dutch voters.

He has served in several French cabinet positions including minister of foreign affairs from 2004 to 2005, minister of state for European affairs from 1995 to 1997 and minister of the environment and way of life from 1993 to 1995. He served at European level as European Commissioner for Regional Policy (1999–2004) and European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services (2010–2014), and was vice president of the European People's Party (EPP) from 2010 to 2015.

Barnier first joined the French Cabinet as Minister of the Environment following the Right's landslide victory in the 1993 legislative election. In 1995, Jacques Chirac appointed him secretary of state for European affairs, serving as such until the defeat of the presidential majority in the 1997 legislative election. Barnier then served as a European Commissioner for Regional Policy in the Prodi Commission from 1999 until 31 March 2004. Then he served as Foreign Minister of France in Jean-Pierre Raffarin's government until 5 June 2005 when Dominique de Villepin replaced him with Philippe Douste-Blazy. He considered he was unjustly sanctioned for the victory of the "No" in the French referendum over the European Constitution.

European Commissioner for Regional Policy 1999–2004

Senator of Savoie. Elected in 1995, but remains minister 1997–1999 (resignation; became European commissioner in 1999).

Together with Jean-Claude Killy he organised the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville as co-president of the COJO (Comité d'Organisation des Jeux Olympiques).

President of the General Council of Savoie 1982–1999 (resignation; became European commissioner in 1999). Reelected in 1985, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998.

Member of the National Assembly of France for Savoie 1978–1993 (became minister in 1993). Elected in 1978, reelected in 1981, 1986, 1988, 1993.

General councillor of Savoie 1973–1999 (resignation, became European commissioner in 1999). Reelected in 1979, 1985, 1992, 1998.

Barnier served on the staff of various Gaullist ministers in the 1970s, before being elected in 1978, aged 27, to the French National Assembly as deputy for the Department of Savoie representing the neo-Gaullists, Rally for the Republic (RPR), serving until 1993.

Michel Bernard Barnier (born 9 January 1951) is a French politician serving as the European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom (UK Task Force/UKTF) since November 2019. He previously served as Chief Negotiator - Task Force for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 TEU (Task Force 50/TF50) from October 2016 to November 2019.

Barnier was born at La Tronche in the French Alps, into a Gaullist family in 1951. His father was a leather and textiles craftsman. In his youth, Barnier was a scout and choirboy. Barnier graduated from the ESCP business school in 1972.