Cédric O(born 18 December 1982) is a French politician ofLa République En Marche!(LREM) who served asSecretary of State (junior minister)for theDigital Economyin the governments of successivePrime MinistersÉdouard PhilippeandJean Castexfrom 2019[1]to 2022.[2][3]
Cédric O | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Secretary of State for the Digital Sector | |
| In office 31 March 2019 – 20 May 2022 | |
| President | Emmanuel Macron |
| Prime Minister | Édouard Philippe Jean Castex |
| Preceded by | Mounir Mahjoubi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 18 December 1982 L'Arbresle,France |
| Political party | La République En Marche! |
| Relatives | Delphine O(sister) |
| Education | Lycée du Parc |
| Alma mater | HEC Paris |
O is a cofounder of theartificial intelligencestartupMistral AI.[4]
Early life and education
editCédric O, son of a French mother fromLyonand a Korean executive, was born on 18 December 1982.[5]He is the brother ofDelphine O,former member of theNational AssemblyforParis's 16th constituency.[6]
After graduating fromLycée du Parc,he enrolled atHEC Parisand graduated in 2006.[7]
Business career
editIn 2007, O started working ascommunications managerfor the Operationelle corporation.[8]Between 2014 and 2017, he was project manager for theSafranaircraft & rocket engine manufacturing company.[7]
Political career
editAlong with futureLa République En Marche!cadresIsmaël EmelienandBenjamin Griveaux,as well as HEC alumnusStanislas Guerini,O participated in the campaign team ofDominique Strauss-Kahnfor the2006 French Socialist Party presidential primary.[9]
After serving aspolitical advisertofinance ministerPierre Moscovici,[5]during the presidency ofSocialistFrançois Hollande,O was appointed treasurer of theLa République En Marche!party inEmmanuel Macron's 2016–17 presidential campaign.[10]In November 2017, O assumed the duties of political advisor to Macron and prime ministerÉdouard Philippe.[10]
Also since November 2017, O has been part of LREM's executive board under the leadership of the party's successive chairmenChristophe CastanerandStanislas Guerini.[11]
On 31 March 2019, O was appointed Parliamentary Undersecretary for theDigital Economy,serving under the leadership of ministerBruno Le Maire.In this capacity, he has invited tech CEOs to meet with the French president about the so-called “tech for good" project, as well asventure capitaliststo Paris to promote to them the purported benefits of investing in the French "tech ecosystem."[12]Cédric O convincedFacebookto allow French regulators to investigate the company'smoderationprocesses,[13][14]and also arranged a meeting between Macron andMark Zuckerberg.[15]
On 26 July 2020, O was appointed State Secretary of Digital Transition and Electronic Communications. Among his tasks was the installation of the future5Gnetwork in France.
Life after politics
editFrom 2022 to 2023, O served on theEuropean Space Agency’s High-Level Advisory Group on Human and Robotic Space Exploration for Europe.[16]
Other activities
edit- European Council on Foreign Relations(ECFR), Member[17]
Political positions
editAmid efforts to contain theCOVID-19 pandemic in France,O was one of the early supporters of the government's proposal for a state-supported“StopCovid” contact-tracing app project.[18]He later publicly accusedApple Inc.of undermining the effort by refusing to help make itsiPhonesmore compatible with the app.[19]
In a joint statement in October 2020, O and his Dutch counterpartMona Keijzercalled for a European Union authority to regulate large technology companies and argued that such an authority should be able to prevent digital platforms from blocking access to their services “unless they have an objective justification.”[20]
References
edit- ^Harriet Agnew (October 25, 2019),Paris overtakes Berlin for tech start-ups after boost from MacronFinancial Times.
- ^Jean-Baptiste Daoulas and Chez Pol (8 March 2022),Le secrétaire d’Etat au Numérique, Cédric O, arrête la politiqueLibération.
- ^Peter O'Brien (27 May 2022),France’s ex-digital minister slams Apple — and the American dreamPolitico Europe.
- ^https://sifted.eu/articles/brunch-with-cedric-o[bare URL]
- ^abBraun, Elisa (2 April 2019)."Qui est Cédric O, le nouveau secrétaire d'État au numérique?"[Who is Cédric O, the new digital State secretary?].Le Figaro(in French). Paris.Retrieved4 April2019.
- ^Pietralunga, Cédric (31 March 2019)."Cédric O, un proche conseiller d'Emmanuel Macron au secrétariat d'Etat au numérique"[Cédric O, a close consultant of Emmanuel Macron as Parliamentary Undersecretary for the digital economy].Le Monde(in French). Paris.Retrieved5 April2019.
- ^ab"Cédric O: Biographie".Government of France website.Retrieved4 April2019.
- ^des Déserts, Sophie (27 April 2018)."Les hommes du président:La bande de copains qui a porté Macron à l'Élysée"[The president's men: The group of friends who brought Macron to the Élysée].Vanity Fair(in French). Paris.Retrieved3 April2019.
- ^Hoarau, Leia (31 March 2019)."Remaniement: qui est Cédric O, remplaçant de Mounir Mahjoubi?"[Rebooting: who is Cédric O, replacing Mounir Mahjoubi?].RTL(in French). Luxembourg.Retrieved4 April2019.
- ^abPerreau, Charlie (1 April 2019)."Qui est Cédric O, le nouveau secrétaire d'Etat au Numérique?"[Who is Cédric O, new Parliamentary Undersecretary for the Digital Economy?].fr:Le Journal du Net(in French).Retrieved4 April2019.
- ^Le Conseil de La République En Marche!La République En Marche!,press release of 16 October 2017.
- ^Rossignol, Aurélie; Lombart, Gaël (1 April 2019)."Cédric O, le nouveau « geek » du gouvernement"[Cédric O, the new government geek].Les Echos(in French).Retrieved4 April2019.
- ^"Réguler internet? Cédric O est" 100% d'accord "avec Zuckerberg"[Regulate the internet? Cédric O is '100%' in agreement with Zuckerberg].L'Express(in French). 1 April 2019.Retrieved4 April2019.
- ^Dillet, Romain (3 April 2019)."How France's new digital minister plans to regulate tech".TechCrunch.Retrieved4 April2019.
- ^Rossignol, Aurélie; Lombart, Gaël (1 April 2019)."Remaniement: 5 choses à savoir sur Cédric O, nouveau secrétaire d'Etat au Numérique"[Reboot: 5 things to know about Cédric O, new state secretary for the digital economy].Le Parisien(in French).Retrieved4 April2019.
- ^N° 11–2023: Independent advisory group presents report on European space revolution to ESAEuropean Space Agency(ESA), press release of 23 March 2023.
- ^MembersEuropean Council on Foreign Relations.
- ^Mathieu Rosemain (17 April 2020),French COVID tracing app will not ready when parliament debates itReuters.
- ^Sudip Kar-Gupta and Michel Rose (5 May 2020),France accuses Apple of refusing help with 'StopCovid' appReuters.
- ^Mathieu Rosemain and Douglas Busvine (15 October 2020),France, Netherlands call for an EU watchdog to regulate tech giantsReuters.
External links
edit- Rieth, Benjamin (1 April 2019)."Un nom de famille à une lettre comme Cédric O: pas si rare, mais cela peut causer des problèmes"[A one-letter family name such as Cédric O: not so rare but it can cause problems].BFM TV(in French).Retrieved4 April2019.