Jean-Luc Romero-Michel

Former Regional Councilor for Ile-de-France region
Deputy Mayor of Paris 12th
Ambassador for an Ile-de-France region without AIDS
President of elected representatives fighting AIDS (ELCS)
Chairman of the French association “Dignity in Dying” (ADMD –F)
Author of 10 books
He has many activities in the field of politics as well as in the world of non-profit organizations.
They are all targeting one and the same goal: the well-being of the individual.
He is the first and the only French politician to have revealed his HIV-infection in May 2002 in a book called “Virus de Vie” (Virus of life).
Activist for same sex wedding, he got married on September 27Th 2013, with Christophe Michel, union celebrated by the Mayor of Paris. Since that day, he signs his correspondence with the two names "Romero-Michel".
>> Wiki (EN) : Jean-Luc ROMERO
>> Biography in French
Important Speech by Jean-Luc Romero in English
- speech of Jean-Luc Romero - Dignity in Dying – London – May 21st
- Jean Luc Romero: “Gay pride can also help combat AIDS” ( Council of Europe )
- Open letter to Mr Vladimir Poutine - LGBT Russie
- speech of Jean-Luc Romero - Dignity in Dying – London – 2014
- Address by Jean-Luc Romero, 20th WFRtDS Conference - Chicago –
- Speech about the #endoflife in #France at Euthanasia 2016 by Jean-Luc ROMERO
Press Review (EN)
- Jean-Luc Romero talks on the fight against AIDS, social media, and equal marriage in France (Pink News - 1er decembre 2012)
- This is big progress but now its up the politicians to take responsibility - Jean-Luc ROMERO, the Local
- NY Times > Jean-Luc Romero-Michel, a local politician in Paris and the president of an association of elected officials fighting AIDS, said he was happy to see the ban lifted after so many years.
- David Bowie or the brilliant transgression by Jean-Luc Romero
Biography - Jean-Luc Romero / Jean-Luc Romero-Michel
He is Deputy Mayor of Paris 12th in charge of Culture and Tourism. Elected in March 2014 on the lists of the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.
He has been regional councillor of the Ile-de-France region (with close ties to the Socialist party) since 1998 and recently re-elected in decembrer 2015.
He is the former president and founder of the political party “Aujourd’hui, Autrement” (Today, Otherwise).
He was elected Ambassador for an Ile-de-France region without AIDS in June 2016.
In the fight against HIV/Aids
He is president of Elus Locaux Contre le Sida [ELCS] (elected representatives fighting AIDS). This association has more than 16,000 members of different political parties aimed at mobilizing and urging French politicians to get involved in the fight against Aids and risk-reducing among drug addicts. His strong involvement in the fight against Aids led to his appointment in 2005 by the Prime Minister as “member of the national Council against Aids”, which is a government organization with a mandate to « give an opinion on all the problems in society linked to Aids and then, give the government sound advice about what should be done ».
Until January 2016, he was also president of CRIPS Ile-de-France, an organization which aims at fighting Aids in the Paris-Ile-de-France region and educating high school students. He is the former president of Aids, great national cause 2005 in France. In 2012, he got an MDV award for his personal involvement in the fight against aids, and “Prix Claude Tourangeau 2012” in Montréal (Canada) for his fight against AIDS.
In 2016, he became Ambassador for the Ile-de-France region without AIDS
In the fight for a dignified death
Jean-Luc Romero-Michel is also Chairman of the French association “Dignity in Dying” (ADMD –F) (Association pour le Droit de Mourir dans la Dignité) which is a Right-To-Die society, created in 1980 and has more than 70,000 members today. ADMD is fighting for the right of every human being to decide when and how to die from the moment he/she is about to lose his/her dignity according to his/her own perception. ADMD has brought about significant changes in the current end-of-life legislation. Its ultimate goal however is to achieve the legalization of euthanasia and assisted suicide. He is a former member of the board of the World Federation of right to die societies (WFRtDS) and is the founder of the International Day for the Right to Die with Dignity on November 2nd.
For equal rights
For many years, Jean-Luc Romero-Michel has also been a militant for the cause of equal rights between gays and heterosexuals. In 2000, he was the first politician who was « outed » in a gay magazine a few weeks before he was about to do his official “coming out“in one of the main evening french newspapers.
He fought vigourously to have homophobic remarks as severely punished as racist ones. He wrote the books “On m’a volé ma vérité” (My truth was stolen from me) and “Homopoliticus, comme ils disent” (Homopoliticus, as they say) about this issue. As president of Crips Ile-de-France, he fights homophobia and HIV-Aids phobia amongst the young. He was elected “gay of the year 2011” by the readers of Yagg. In 2012, he was the honor president of the "Montreal Pride", in 2015 of the Montpellier Pride and in 2016 in the Tignes and Lille Prides.
The author
He has written 10 books including “Homopoliticus, comme ils disent” about the history of homosexuality in politics in France and the rest of the world over the last 50 years (which came out in May 2011). He has come out on a documentary film with Aleksander Dzerdz « Homopoliticus » which was shown on the parliamentary channel (LCP- AN) and France 3 at the end of the year 2012 and again in 2013.
“Les Voleurs de Liberté” (The Freedom Thieves about a lifetime struggle and the legalization of euthanasia was first printed in 2009 and followed by a new edition in March 2012 with a preface by Noëlle Châtelet.
This was followed by two other books about the issue of euthanasia: in September 2013: "Letter to the French President : let us die in dignity !" and “My Death belongs to me” in 2015. In November 2016, he published his 10th book "Survivor- my 30 years with Aids" ‘(SurVivant – mes 30 ans avec le sida).
Decorations
He is chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur (Knight of the Honor Legion), the main decoration in France, de l’ordre National du Mérite (of the National Order of Merit) and des Arts et Lettres (Fine Arts)
Elected politician of the year 2001 by the readers of VSD.
Gay of the year (2011) by the readers of yagg.fr.
MDV Awards 2012 for his involvement in the fight against Aids.
“Prix Claude Tourangeau 2012” in Montréal (Canada) for his fight against Aids.
LGBTI of the year (2017) by the readers of “Garçon Magzine”
2015/11 >
Jean-Luc Romero-Michel, a local politician in Paris and the president of an association of elected officials fighting AIDS, said he was happy to see the ban lifted after so many years.
“But what I don’t understand is why we don’t condition blood donation by high-risk behavior,” Mr. Romero-Michel, who is openly gay, said in a telephone interview. “It isn’t being heterosexual that is a risk. It isn’t being gay that is a risk. It is behaviors that are risky.”
Mr. Romero-Michel also said he worried it would take much longer than announced to bring the deferral period for homosexual blood donors in line with that of heterosexuals.
Source Via NYTIMES