Jean-Yves Le Drian is the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs since May 2017. Previously he was Minister of State for Marine Affairs, attached to the Minister for Infrastructure, Housing, Transport and Space from 1991-1992, then Minister of Defence, from 2012 to  2017.

From 1977 to 2004 he was municipal councillor in Lorient (Morbihan Department), from 1981 to 1998 he became mayor of Lorient (Morbihan Department), from 1978 to 1991 and from 1997 to 2007 he was National Assembly deputy for the Morbihan Department, from 1998 to 2004 he was Brittany Regional councillor and finally from 2004 to 2012 he was president of the Regional Council of Brittany.

Since 2005 he is representative for the Regions at the Board of the European Committee of the Regions. In 2005, he was elected vice-president of the French Delegation to the European Committee of the Regions. From 1983 to 2004 he was  president of the Pays de Lorient inter-municipal community (6 municipalities), then of the Pays de Lorient District (10 municipalities) and of the Pays de Lorient Urban Community (19 municipalities). In 2010, he was elected president of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions of Europe (CPMR).

Mister Le Drian holds an agregation in Contemporary History.