Hélène Dorlhac

Hélène Dorlhac
Secretary of State for Families and Senior Citizens
In office
28 June 1988 – 15 May 1991
PresidentFrançois Mitterrand
Preceded byGeorgina Dufoix (Secretary of State for Families)
Catherine Trautmann (Minister of State for Senior Citizens)
Succeeded byLaurent Cathala
Secretary of State for Prison Conditions
In office
8 June 1974 – 25 August 1976
PresidentValéry Giscard d'Estaing
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byposition abolished
Personal details
BornHélène Roujon
(1935-10-04)4 October 1935
Sumène, France
Died4 March 2026(2026-03-04) (aged 90)
Nîmes, France
PartyUDF
EducationUniversity of Montpellier School of Medicine
OccupationDoctor

Hélène Dorlhac de Borne (French: [elˈɛn dɔʁlˈak dˈə- bˈɔʁn]; née Roujon; 4 October 1935 – 4 March 2026) was a French politician of the Union for French Democracy (UDF).[1]

Life and career

Born in Sumène on 4 October 1935, Dorlhac was the daughter of Louis Roujon, the commune's former mayor. She graduated from the University of Montpellier School of Medicine with a diploma in occupational medicine.[2] In the 1970s, she joined the National Federation of the Independent Republicans and joined the pro-Valéry Giscard d'Estaing club Perspectives et Réalités.[2]

Dorlhac supported d'Estaing during the 1974 presidential election and was assigned to the president's cabinet as Secretary of State for Prison Conditions, a position in which she saw poor prison conditions for youth and was faced with several prison riots.[3] Her work focused primarily on the humanization of the prison system within the framework of the penal policies of the Ministry of Justice.[4] She left her post following a cabinet reshuffle in 1976 and her ministerial post was discontinued.[2]

During the 1988 presidential election, Dorlhac supported eventual victor François Mitterrand[2] and came out of her retirement to accept a position as Secretary of State for Families and Senior Citizens.[5] She was a driving force behind laws aimed at the prevention of child abuse, inlcuding the 119 child abuse hotline.[6][7] She also initiated campaigns to prevent pedophilia.[8] On 29 and 30 September 1989, she took part in the first ever World Summit for Children at the United Nations.[9] That year, she contributed to the drafting of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was adopted on 20 November 1989 and championed a law on the protection of child models in 1990.[10][11] She left her ministerial post on 15 May 1991. From 1991 to 2000, she was a General Inspector of Social Affairs.[12]

Dorlhac was married to Jacques Dorlhac de Borne, a general practitioner with whom she had three children. She died in Nîmes on 4 March 2026, at the age of 90.[13]

Decorations

Publications

  • Changer la prison (1984)

References

  1. ^ Boudet, Adrien (5 March 2026). ""Une belle personne", "une femme de valeurs" : l'ancienne secrétaire d'Etat Hélène Dorlhac de Borne est décédée à Nîmes, à 90 ans". Midi Libre (in French). Nîmes. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d "Le secret d'Hélène Dorlhac". Le Monde (in French). 28 July 1988. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  3. ^ Barry, Yan (7 August 2013). "Nîmes : Hélène Dorlhac juge la prison". Midi Libre (in French). Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  4. ^ "Hélène Dorlhac de Borne, secrétaire d'Etat sous Giscard et Mitterrand, est morte à 90 ans". Le Monde (in French). 5 March 2026. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  5. ^ Helft-Malz, Véronique; Levy, Paule-Henriette (1996). Encyclopédie des femmes politiques, sous la Ve République (in French). Editions P. Banon. ISBN 2-84192-016-X.
  6. ^ "Au conseil des ministres Mme Dorlhac présente un projet de loi pour protéger l'enfance maltraitée". Le Monde (in French). 20 April 1989. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  7. ^ "La Journée nationale contre l'enfance maltraitée Les enfants martyrs appellent de plus en plus à l'aide". Le Monde (in French). 20 September 1994. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  8. ^ Boussaguet, Laurie (25 January 2021). "Inceste : la fin d'un tabou politique?". Le Journal du Dimanche (in French). Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  9. ^ "Un sommet international à New-York Le monde au chevet de l'enfance menacée". Le Monde (in French). 29 November 1990. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  10. ^ "Examinée par le conseil des ministres Une loi va protéger les enfants mannequins et réglementer les agences de publicité". Le Monde (in French). 29 March 1990. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  11. ^ Corone, François (1995). "La définition juridique du mannequin". LEGICOM (in French). Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  12. ^ "Inspection générale Hélène DORLHAC". Les Echos (in French). 4 November 1991. Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  13. ^ Sallafranque, Hervé (4 March 2026). "La Gardoise Hélène Dorlhac de Borne, ancienne secrétaire d'État, est décédée". Ici (in French). Retrieved 5 March 2026.
  14. ^ "Décret du 30 janvier 2008 portant promotion et nomination". Journal officiel de la République française (in French). 31 January 2008. Retrieved 5 March 2026.