Benoit Hamon

Benoît Hamon (French: [b%C9%99.nwa a.mɔ̃]; born 26 June 1967) is a French politician and a member of the Socialist Party (PS) and Party of European Socialists (PES). He became the PS candidate for the 2017 French presidential election after defeating Manuel Valls in the second round of the party primary on 29 January 2017.

Hamon was Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the East of France from 2004 to 2009. He was also the leader of the left-wing of the PS during the 2008 Reims Congress and its candidate for the First Secretaryship. In May 2012, he was appointed Junior Minister for the Social Economy at the Ministry of the Economy, Finance, and External Trade by President François Hollande, serving in that post for two years. He was Minister of National Education from April 2014 until August 2014, resigning as a result of what he considered President Hollande's abandonment of a socialist agenda.