Jacques Cornano (born 18 November 1956, in Saint-Louis, Guadeloupe) is a French politician who was elected to the French Senate on 25 September 2011, representing the Department of Guadeloupe. [1]
Before taking up his political offices, Jacques Cornano used to work as a teacher. Professor of Electrical engineering, he used to teach in Guadeloupe (Basse-Terre and Grande-Terre) as well as in the École Normale Nationale de l’Apprentissage (ENNA) of Toulouse. Once back in Guadeloupe, he was elected president of Aigle, a cultural and sporting association. He also succeeded in opening an electro-technical class in the High School of Marie-Galante in 1978. This was also the time when the population of Saint-Louis de Marie-Galante (his hometown) asked him to return to his native island so he could run for the municipal elections.
Even though Jacques Cornano was still a teacher in Capesterre-Belle-Eau, the inhabitants of Saint-Louis asked him to run for the municipal elections and to present an opposition list against the outgoing mayor, François PAMÉOLE. Since then, Jacques Cornano has been elected twice in the first round of voting as Mayor of Saint-Louis. Indeed, during his first mandate he managed to tackle the city’s debt and was then elected again in 2008 as well as in 2014.
On the occasion of the French legislative elections of 2002, Jacques Cornano became the substitute deputy of Éric Jalton (deputy of the first circonscription[ sic?] of Guadeloupe). Since the latter was elected again in 2007, Jacques Cornanohas remained in this position. Also very involved in local life, he became a councillor for the Canton de Saint Louis after being elected Mayor of Saint-Louis. He occupied this position until his election as Senator in 2011.
In 2011, Jacques Cornano ran for the Senate elections and was elected Senator of Guadeloupe (Miscellaneous Left) with 53.65% of the votes in the second round, along with his colleagues, Mr Jacques GILLOT and Mr Felix DESPLAN. Because of his roots in Marie-Galante, Jacques Cornano pays particular attention to issues relating to the islanders. The main example of this is probably the issue of fairness in the context of the principle of territorial continuity for "the southern islands" (Marie-Galante, la Désirade and the îles des Saintes), an important topic that he strongly defends.
As part of his senatorial duties, Jacques Cornano is a member of the delegation of Overseas territories [2] and of the Commission on Sustainable Development, infrastructure, equipment and land. [3] In early 2015, he was also appointed rapporteur of the working group "Les Outre-Mer confrontés au changement climatique [4] " within the context of the preparation of the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21).
Guadeloupe is an overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and two Îles des Saintes—as well as many uninhabited islands and outcroppings. It is south of Antigua and Barbuda and Montserrat and north of Dominica. The capital city is Basse-Terre, on the southern west coast of Basse-Terre Island; the most populous city is Les Abymes and the main centre of business is neighbouring Pointe-à-Pitre, both on Grande-Terre Island. It had a population of 395,726 in 2024.
The French West Indies or French Antilles are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean:
Lucette Michaux-Chevry was a French politician, who served as President of the Regional Council of the overseas department of Guadeloupe between 1992 and 2004. She was nicknamed the "Iron Lady of the Caribbean." because she was "for a long time the strong woman of the department."
The Senate is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. It is made up of 348 senators elected by part of the country's local councillors in indirect elections. Senators have six-year terms, with half of the seats up for election every three years. They represent France's departments (328), overseas collectivities (8) and citizens abroad (12).
La Désirade is an island in the French West Indies, in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. It forms part of Guadeloupe, an overseas region of France.
Marie-Galante is one of the dependencies of Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. Marie-Galante has a land area of 158.1 km2. It had 11,528 inhabitants at the start of 2013, but by the start of 2018 the total was officially estimated to be 10,655, with a population density of 62.5/km2 (162/sq mi).
The Îles des Saintes, also known as Les Saintes, is a group of small islands in the archipelago of Guadeloupe, an overseas department of France. It is part of the Canton of Trois-Rivières and is divided into two communes: Terre-de-Haut and Terre-de-Bas. It is in the arrondissement of Basse-Terre and also in Guadeloupe's 4th constituency.
Grand-Bourg, also known as Grand-Bourg de Marie-Galante, is a commune on the island of Marie-Galante, in the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe, in the Lesser Antilles, Caribbean. It is located in the southwest of Marie-Galante, and is the most populous of the three communes on the island.
The Collectivity of Saint Martin, commonly known as simply Saint Martin, is an overseas collectivity of France in the West Indies in the Caribbean, on the northern half of the island of Saint Martin, as well as some smaller adjacent islands. Saint Martin is separated from the island of Anguilla by the Anguilla Channel. Its capital is Marigot.
The Communist, Republican, Citizen and Ecologist group is a parliamentary group in the French Senate, the indirectly elected upper house of the French Parliament. Unlike most other parliamentary groups in the Senate, it counts mostly of only the Senators of one party, the French Communist Party, among its members.
Articles related to the French overseas department of Guadeloupe include:
Overseas France consists of 13 French territories outside Europe, mostly the remnants of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonisation. Most, but not all are part of the European Union.
Alphonse Henri Gasnier-Duparc was a French politician. He served as mayor of Saint-Malo, senator for Ille-et-Vilaine (1932–1940) and Naval Minister. He was a member of the Légion d'honneur, the Croix de Guerre, the Mérite maritime, the Mérite agricole and the Palmes académiques.
Aline Hanson was a native of Saint Martin, who was noted as a teacher and then became the first woman elected president of the Collectivity of Saint Martin. Hanson began her career in education, working as a teacher, advisor to the French government on developing programs for disadvantaged children and principal of Sandy Ground Elementary School. She entered politics, simultaneously working as a teacher, in the mayoral office of Marigot. Serving on numerous island boards and government entities, in 2007 she ran for a seat on the Territorial Council and was elected as a council member. Two years later, she was promoted to the executive council. In 2012, after winning a seat on the council, she was selected as first vice president. When Richardson was forced from office in 2013, Hanson was elected as the first woman to serve as president of the Overseas Collectivity of St. Martin.
Adolphe Marie Dieudonné Cicéron was a French notary who was Senator of Guadeloupe from 1900 to 1912.
Rémy Jacques was a French lawyer and politician. He represented the department of Oran, French Algeria, in the National Assembly and then the Chamber of Deputies from 1871 to 1882. He was then Senator of Oran from 1882 to 1900.
Georges Robert Cloche de Mont-Saint-Rémy de La Malmaison was a French soldier and colonial administrator who was governor of Guadeloupe from 1705 until his death in 1717. In 1713–15 he was acting governor general of the French Antilles
Victoire Jasmin was a French Socialist politician. She represented Guadeloupe in the French Senate.
Cédric Perrin is a French politician who has represented the Territoire de Belfort in the Senate since 2014. He is a member of The Republicans (LR), formerly the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). Since 26 October 2023, he has presided over the bicameral Délégation parlementaire au renseignement, which supervises France's three main intelligence agencies.
Marie-Hélène Cardot was a French resistance leader and politician. She conducted clandestine activities, helping prisoners and guerrillas during the Second World War, in which she was twice arrested. Cardot went into politics following the end of the German occupation of France. During her political career, she served in the Council of the Republic, the Senate, of which she was vice-president from 1959 to 1971, and was mayor of Douzy for 18 years. She was a recipient of the Resistance Medal, the Croix de Guerre, the Cross of the Order of Leopold and the Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur.