Charles Millon

Charles Marie Philippe Millon, born on 13 November 1945 in Belley, Ain, is a French politician. A member of the UDF, he was member of the French parliament for Ain and President of the Rhône-Alpes Regional Council. He was Minister of Defence from 1995 to 1997 in Alain Juppé's government, and led the highly sensitive reform on the professionalization of the armed forces. In 1998, in order to keep the presidency of the regional council, he agreed on being elected with votes from Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front and was subsequently expelled from the UDF. He then created his own party, called "The Right", aiming at federating French libertarians and conservatives, which met limited success. He ran in 2001 for Mayor of Lyon. He has been nominated in 2003 as France's ambassador to FAO, where he advocates for the development of Africa.