François Roussely, former boss of EDF from 1998 to 2004, died at the age of 78 following a long illness, we learned this Thursday evening from the French energy company.
“A tireless servant of the State, Mr. Roussely never ceased to defend French industry. At the head of EDF, he led major transformations at the dawn of the 21st century,” the company wrote in a tweet.
Born on January 9, 1945 in Belvès, in the Dordogne, François Roussely, a former student of the ENA (class of 1976), was notably an auditor, then referendum adviser at the Court of Auditors in 1982. Member of the cabinet of Gaston Defferre, he is involved in the reform of decentralization.
He then led the cabinet of Pierre Joxe, Minister of the Interior, before occupying various responsibilities within the State between 1981 and 1997, in particular the post of Director General of the National Police, Secretary General for the Administration at the Ministry of Defence, before becoming chief of staff to the Minister of Defence, Alain Richard, in 1997.
A reorganization of EDF
He was appointed CEO of EDF in 1998, a group whose international development he began, particularly in Europe with the takeover of the British companies London Electricity and Eastern Electricity, the acquisition of a stake in EnBW in Germany and the increase in the capital of Montedison in Italy.
He also reorganized the group, which abandoned its status as a public industrial and commercial establishment (EPIC) in favor of that of a public limited company, and set up the Electricity Rapid Intervention Force following the 1999 storm, also accelerating the burying of electrical networks.
After six years at the head of EDF, he must give way to Pierre Gadonneix. He then became Managing Director of Crédit Suisse in France and Vice-President of Crédit Suisse in Europe.
In 2010, he was entrusted by Nicolas Sarkozy with writing a report on the future of the French nuclear sector by 2030, at the end of which the government announced the reorganization of the sector by giving a central role to EDF and bringing it closer to its enemy brother Areva. In 2015, François Roussely joined the investment bank Messier Maris as a partner.
In a press release, EDF, which states that it learned of his death on Wednesday, expressed its “tremendous sadness”, addressing “its warmest thoughts and sincere condolences to his family, loved ones and all those who worked alongside him. “.