Didier Guillaume, former president of the General Council of Drôme (2004 to 2015), former senator of Drôme or even Minister of Agriculture, and who had been Minister of State of Monaco since September, died Friday January 17 at the age 65.
Since the announcement of his death by the principality, reactions have been pouring in from Drôme, Ardèche, but also from the top of the State and the principality of Monaco, or even from the Rugby world of which he was a big fan.
We will return to Didier Guillaume’s journey in our editions of the Tribune and the JTT on Thursday January 23.
-Marie-Pierre Moutonpresident of the Department of Drôme: “It is with immense sadness and sincere emotion that I learned of the disappearance of Didier Guillaume. The Drôme, his friends from Bourg de Péage and all those who, like me, knew him closely are today orphans of a man of character, with a warm and endearing personality, whose memory will accompany us for a long time. His Drôme roots have made him a grassroots elected official who listens to residents and regions.
Mayor, president of the Departmental Council, senator, Minister of Agriculture… whatever the position held, he fulfilled his missions with heart and enthusiasm. At the Departmental Assembly, I remember the engaged debates and direct exchanges, often concluded on a note of humor which never failed to bring smiles to the hemicycle.
I also want to recall that it was under his presidency that the Department got into the habit of going each year to the Agricultural Show in Paris, where he became the first ambassador of Drôme, of our farmers and agricultural production. Excellency. A passion that took him to the highest government positions.
Today, the suddenness of his disappearance, when he had just taken up positions which excited him in Monaco, leaves us speechless. I pay tribute to the departmental and national politician and bow to my friend from Drôme. All my thoughts are with his wife, his children and his family. »
– Pascal Terraceex-MP and ex-president of the Ardèche department when Didier Guillaume was stationed in Drôme: “It is with immense sadness that I learned of the death of Didier Guillaume. We shared unforgettable moments together when he and I were presidents of our respective departments.
Our friendly relations allowed us to build close and sincere bonds. Ardèche and Drôme were one, driven by a common vision. Together, we have accomplished major projects, particularly on the economic level, with the distribution of the professional tax, or even in the sporting field, by working for the return of the Monte-Carlo Rally or to host stages of the Tour de France.
Didier was also passionate about the Remission, in Antraigues, at our mutual friend’s house. He knew Northern Ardèche as well as I knew Southern Drôme. We shared common passions and above all a political commitment geared towards social democracy.
I remember our joint meetings, our moments of joy, but also the trials we went through together. I will never forget this honor he gave me by naming me an honorary citizen of Drôme, just as I had entrusted him with the reins of our interdepartmental cooperation which we chaired in turn.
With his departure, a political page in our territories is turning. Today, I want to send my most sincere condolences to all those who loved him. Didier was not only a fellow traveler, he was a friend.
-Marie-Pierre Moniersenator from Drôme: “Very saddened by the news of the death of Didier Guillaume. It’s a shock, as he’s always been a fighter, and I’m struggling to find the words this evening.
For me, Didier was a charismatic tribune and a personality who left his mark on Drôme forever. We shared many values and in particular a strong attachment to rurality. Even when he became a minister, he never forgot where he came from.
He was an incredible president of the department: it is for this reason, for the respect and admiration that I had for his way of exercising this role, that I agreed to be on his senatorial list in 2014.
Didier will forever remain the one who opened the doors of the Senate and national political commitment to me. We had been going different ways lately. This did not prevent our common history from maintaining a special bond between us. This evening, I am thinking of all those who love him, and all those he has had an impact on and who feel stunned, and I am sending them all my thoughts and affection. »
– Marie Pochon (deputy of the 3e constituency of Drôme): “Drôme loses one of its children today, with the death of Didier Guillaume. Son of a sheep breeder, he left his mark on Drôme and the Drôme region, defending them as President of the departmental council, rising to the rank of Minister of Agriculture. My thoughts are with his family and his bereaved loved ones. »
– Olivier Dussoptformer minister and mayor of Annonay: “With the death of Didier Guillaume, I mourn a friend, a big brother, who has always accompanied and supported me: during my first campaign in 2007, through his support and friendship in 2017 against all odds, as a colleague in government, in politics and in life in both happy and difficult times. France, Drôme, the Principality of Monaco are losing a great man. So many of us lose a friend, the pain heightened by common memories, battles fought and shared values. I will miss Didier terribly, we will miss him. »
--Emmanuel MacronPresident of the Republic,: “Didier Guillaume is no more. Former minister, elected official rooted in the Drôme, humanist in the Republic, his commitment to others was like him, vibrant, warm, whole. From Bourg-de-Péage to Monaco. I think of his family. I’m losing a friend. »
– François BayrouPrime Minister: “Didier Guillaume, former minister of agriculture and president of the general council of Drôme, was a solid and generous man. A humanist in the full sense of the word. To him and his family our gratitude and affection. »
– HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco : “I am deeply touched by the death of a man of commitment and heart. The Principality of Monaco loses an exemplary servant, whose action and loyalty will remain engraved in our memories. I send my sincere condolences to his family, as well as my warmest thoughts to all those who mourn him today. »
– Government of Monaco : It is with great emotion that we learned of the death of HE Mr. Didier Guillaume, Minister of State, which occurred today. The members of the Government and all the staff of the Administration would like to express their sincere and saddened condolences to his wife and his loved ones. Everyone will remember her exceptional capacity for work, her passion for politics in favor of women and men, as well as her spirit of unity and mobilization. Beyond being a statesman in the service of the Sovereign Prince, his immense human qualities enabled him to quickly be appreciated in Monaco. HE Didier Guillaume was able to bring to the Principality all the experience he had acquired throughout a prestigious career within the French State. He will have carried out his mission with determination and carried out the guidelines defined by HSH Prince Albert II in favor of our country. The Government will ensure that it continues on this path. »
– Jean Glavanyformer Minister of Agriculture,: “I knew Didier Guillaume at the end of the 1970s when I was appointed General Delegate to the First Secretary of the Socialist Party and, as a young tax official, he was First Secretary of the Drôme Federation. It was with him, moreover, that we organized the mobilization around the new President’s first trip to the provinces, a few days after he took office, at Pentecost in 1981, marked by a memorable walkabout in Montelimar. We have never lost touch since. At the beginning of the 90s we participated together in the National Secretariat of the PS, and experienced tumultuous moments together and in solidarity. At the end of the same years, he joined my office at the Ministry of Agriculture as a political advisor. He knew deep France well, the France of rural communes, of small provincial towns like Bourg de Péage of which he had been mayor since 1995 and to which he devoted himself body and soul. His contribution to my ministerial team was original, atypical, warm, unifying. Very quickly, he became President of the General Council of Drôme then Senator of this department. He then had a successful career in the High Assembly as a notable senator which earned me the opportunity to make some friendly and humorous remarks to him. Then came his choice to serve with ardor two Presidents of the Republic, first François Hollande who did not reward him as he would have liked and, more surprisingly, Emmanuel Macron who made him Minister of Agriculture in the government of ‘Edouard Philippe for only one year and eight months which left little time to make his mark. But he found, with undisguised pleasure, a Ministry that he knew well, 20 years after having served there alongside me. He then experienced a terrible slump due to illness which required extremely brutal treatment which weakened him for a long time. He believed he had overcome this evil, enough in any case to apply for the post of Minister of State in Monaco where he took office last summer. But, alas, it was only a remission and the disease awoke even more brutally, with dazzling effects.
Didier was my friend, a sports lover, a basketball player by training but passionate about rugby, warm, happy to be outgoing, loving team spirit and festive atmospheres. We had political differences, notably on the end of his career and, perhaps, nuances in our approach to political behaviors which are sometimes even more important than ideas and projects. But all that hardly matters when it comes time to say goodbye. He remained my friend until the end whom I saw regularly in the South-West which he loved so much and the Basque country where he had, for a time, taken up residence, and his disappearance affects me deeply. I send to Béatrice, her two sons, her brother and all her family my saddened and sincere condolences and my very moved personal thoughts. »
– National Rugby League (LNR): “The National Rugby League (LNR) learned with great sadness of the death of Didier Guillaume. Didier Guillaume dedicated his life to public action, exercising responsibilities as Mayor, President of the General Council, Senator and Minister of Agriculture and Food before recently taking the helm of the government of the Principality of Monaco, in as Minister of State, in 2024. A great rugby enthusiast, Didier Guillaume joined the Steering Committee and the Office of the LNR in 2021 to support professional rugby in its development, thanks to his experience and his knowledge of rugby and institutions. He leaves a big void. All members of the National Rugby League send their most sincere condolences to his family and loved ones. »
