Anne Hidalgo

Anne (Ana) Hidalgo (born 19 June 1959) is a Spanish-born French politician who is the current Mayor of Paris, the first woman to hold the office.

She has been a member of the Socialist Party (PS) since 1994, previously serving as former National Secretary for Culture and Media. She was the First Deputy Mayor of Paris, under Bertrand Delanoë (March 2001–March 2014). She was elected as a Councillor in 2001 for the 15th arrondissement and ran again in the French municipal elections, 2008. She was elected Mayor of Paris at the March 2014 municipal elections.

Biography

Family background and youth

Hidalgo was born in San Fernando, near Cádiz, in Andalusia, Spain. Her paternal grandfather was a Spanish Socialist who became a refugee in France after the end of the Spanish Civil War along with his wife and his four children. However, her grandparents returned to Spain some time later. Her grandmother died on the return trip whilst her grandfather was sentenced to the death penalty, although this was eventually commuted to a life sentence. Hidalgo's father was raised by his maternal grandparents. He was an electrician. In the late 1950s, he married a seamstress; they had two daughters, Ana (Anne) and María (Marie). However, due to the difficult economic climate in Spain during this period, Hidalgo's parents migrated, this time as economic immigrants, to France. They settled in Lyon in 1961, with their two daughters.