Second in a family of seven children, Najat Belkacem was born on 4 October 1977 in the Moroccan countryside in Bni Chiker, a village near Nador in the Rif region. Her grandmothers were respectively Spanish and Algerian. In 1982 she joined her father, a construction worker, with her mother and elder sister Fatiha, and grew up in the suburbs of Amiens. Vallaud-Belkacem graduated from the Institut d'études politiques de Paris in 2002. At the Institut she met Boris Vallaud, whom she married on 27 August 2005.
Political career
Vallaud-Belkacem joined the Socialist Party in 2002 and the team of Lyon mayor Gérard Collomb in 2003, leading actions to strengthen local democracy, the fight against discrimination, promotion of citizen rights, and access to employment and housing. Elected to the Regional Council of Rhone-Alpes in 2004, she chaired the Culture Commission, resigning in 2008. In 2005, she became adviser to the Socialist Party. In 2005 and 2006 she was a columnist for the cultural programme C'est tout vu on Télé Lyon Municipale alongside Stéphane Cayrol. In February 2007 she joined Ségolène Royal's campaign team as a spokeswoman, alongside Vincent Peillon and Arnaud Montebourg. In March 2008 she was elected conseillère générale of the Rhône department in the cantonal elections with 58.52% of the votes in the second round, under the banner of the Socialist Party in the canton of Lyon-XIII. On 16 May 2012, Vallaud-Belkacem was appointed to French President François Hollande's cabinet as Minister of Women's Rights and spokeswoman for the government. After 15 years in public office, Vallaud-Belkacem decided to take a break from politics in June 2017. Despite speculation, she announced that she would not seek the leadership of the Socialist Party at the Aubervilliers Congress in 2018.
Career in the private sector
In March 2018, Vallaud-Belkacem joined research and polling firm Ipsos as CEO of its Global Affairs division. The department carries out research that helps international institutions, NGOs, international foundations and other actors which act in the global public interest better make decisions. In addition to her work with Ipsos, Vallaud-Belkacem launched and co-directs the Gender Equality and Public Policy programme at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. She also heads Raison de Plus, a collection of progressive essays published by Fayard.
Political positions
Vallaud-Belkacem supports having the French government force Twitter to filter out hate speech that is illegal under French law, such as speech that is homophobic. Regarding same-sex marriage in France, she has stated that its legalisation is a matter of "historic progress".
Personal life
Vallaud-Belkacem describes herself as a "non-practicing Muslim".
