alain juppe has a very distinguished record of public service. he has been appointed a minister on three occasions. he was minister of foreign affairs are originally from 1993-1995. in that year, he became prime minister of france, serving through till 1997. and he was appointed to his current position in 2011, as he mentioned to me, he had a short stint as minister of defense and veterans affairs in between. he has been a member of the national assembly, and in the political realm, he helped to create ump party, the party of president nicolas sarkozy. the foreign minister has served as chairman of that party. he was also elected to the mayor of bordeaux, a place that we know very well for its great wine. he played a very important role in terms of modernizing and introducing a been planning in that's -- both in planning in that city where he served as mayor from 1995-2004. he is the author of several books on politics and farm policy. we're very honored to have him here today after a very hectic round of meetings with the secretary of state and