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Damien Alary
Damien Alary
Damien Joseph Marius Alary
	Damien Alary in 2009
Vice-President of the Regional Council of Occitania
	In office; 4 January 2016 – 2 July 2021
President	Carole Delga
Regional Councilor of Occitania
	In office; 13 December 2015 – 2 July 2021
President	Carole Delga
President of the Regional Council of Languedoc-Roussillon
	In office; 29 September 2014 – 31 December 2015
Preceded by	Christian Bourquin
Succeeded by	Carole Delga
Vice-president of the Regional Council of Languedoc-Roussillon
	In office; 28 March 2004 – 24 October 2010
President	Georges Frêche
Chairman of the Departmental Council of Gard
	In office; 23 March 2001 – 29 September 2014
Preceded by	Alain Journet
Succeeded by	William Dumas
Mayor of Pompignan
	In office; 3 February 1979 – 5 March 1999
Preceded by	Marcel Valat
Succeeded by	Claude Reynard
Personal details
Born	17 January 1951 (age 73); Pompignan, Gard
Nationality	French
Political party	PS (1976-2010); DVG (2010); PS (since 2010);

Damien Alary (French pronunciation: [damjɛ̃ alaʁi]; born 17 January 1951 in Pompignan) is a French politician and a member of the Socialist Party.

He was the chairman of the Departmental Council of Gard from 2001 to 2014, then briefly President of the regional council of Languedoc-Roussillon from 2014 to 2015.

Biography

Political career

He joined the Socialist Party in 1977 after a meeting with Michel Rocard.^[1]^[2]

In 1979, he was elected mayor of Pompignan;^[3] in 1986, regional councilor of Languedoc-Roussillon,^[4] and in 1988, general councilor of the canton of Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort.^[5]

He was elected in Gard's 5th constituency in 1997^[6] and re-elected in 2002,^[7] from the Socialist Group.

After having chaired the socialist group, under the presidency of Alain Journet, within the general council of Gard from 1998 to 2001, he was elected president in 2001.^[5]

In 2004, he was elected first vice-president of the Regional Council. After the regional elections of 2004, he resigned because of multiple mandates.^[8]

On 23 February 2010 he was excluded from the Socialist Party following his rallying to the list led by Georges Frêche against that of the PS.^[9]

On 28 October 2010, after the death of Georges Frêche, the group of socialists excluded and related to the Regional Council elects its candidate for the presidency of the Languedoc-Roussillon region. Damien Alary lost against Christian Bourquin by 13 votes against 18 in secret ballots.^[10] The following 10 November, Christian Bourquin was elected president of the regional council, and Robert Navarro replaced Damien Alary from the post of first vice-president he had held since 2004.^[9] Damien Alary then asked for his reinstatement in the PS, which he then obtained.^[9]

Suffering from cancer in the vocal cords, which he revealed himself in 2011, Damien Alary retained all of his elected functions and mandates. In January 2012, he affirmed “[to be] still good for the service” and “intact in [his] commitment”.^[11]

After considering a candidacy for the 2014 municipal elections in Nîmes,^[12] Damien Alary announced his resignation on 10 September 2013.^[13]

After the death of Christian Bourquin, on 26 August 2014, Damien Alary announced his candidacy for the presidency of the Regional Council of Languedoc-Roussillon.^[14]^[15] He was elected by the regional council on 29 September.^[10]

In September 2015, it took the position, with Jean-Claude Gayssot, for the implementation of a European policy for welcoming “Mediterranean refugees”.^[16] On 7 October 2015 he succeeded Francina Armengol as the president of the Pyrenees-Mediterranean Euroregion.^[17]^[18]

During the 2015 regional election in Languedoc-Roussillon-Midi-Pyrénées, head of the PS list in Gard, he announced that he was leading his "last political fight".^[19]^[20]

Early life

Coming from a family of Pompignan wine growers,^[1] he owned a vineyard and olive grove.^[21] He is married and has a son, Yannick, born in 1976, who became a notary in Alès.