Hervé Novelli

Hervé Novelli (born 6 March 1949) is a French politician of Italian origin, and a past member of the UDF group. He was a deputé in the Assemblée Nationale for the Indre-et-Loire département from 2002 to 2007, having previously been a député from 1993–1997. He has also served as a member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2002 and as vice-president of the Indre et Loire local government (conseil général) from 1998 to 2001. He is also mayor of Richelieu since 2001. In June 2007, he became a member of the cabinet of Nicolas Sarkozy as an undersecretary for business and foreign trade (secrétaire d’Etat chargé des Entreprises et du Commerce extérieur). He was from March 2008 to 13 November 2010 an undersecretary for commerce, craftsmanship, small and medium businesses, tourism and services (secrétaire d’Etat chargé du commerce, de l’artisanat, des petites et moyennes entreprises, du tourisme et des services) in the cabinet of Nicolas Sarkozy. In March 2006, he has created the association Les Réformateurs.

His political history is that of a conservative politician moving to the center ground. He was, from the 1960s to 1980s a member of various extreme right parties including Occident, the Parti des forces nouvelles, the National Front, etc., before joining the conservative National Centre of Independents and Peasants and then the centrist Parti Républicain, a component of UDF. He was general secretary from 1990 to 1993, then member of the bureau exécutif of the Parti Républicain.

Professionally, he was CEO of établissements Janton, from 1982 to 2006, and chargé de mission for the French steel industry (Chargé de mission pour la chambre syndicale de la sidérurgie française) from 1977 to 1986.