Who Is Elisabeth Borne? First Female Prime Minister Of France In 30 Years

France has a new prime minister, installing Elisabeth Borne who is the first female prime minister of the country in 30 years.

Borne replaces Jean Castex for the role per an official statement from the Elysee Palace on Monday, May 16. She becomes only the second woman ever to serve as Prime Minister since the end of World War II.

The first woman to hold the position was Edith Cresson. She was the Prime Minister of France from May 1991 to April 1992, then under Socialist President Francois Mitterand.

Borne previously served as the minister for environment, transportation and labor, CNN reported.

With her installment, Borne will lead a French government that is expected to deliver the election campaign priorities of President Emmanuel Macron. This includes retirement reform and the scaling up of policies designed to combat climate change.

This development comes after Macron’s reelection last Apr. 24.

Borne dedicated her nomination to “every little girl” during a ceremony held on Monday.

"I want to dedicate my nomination to all little girls and tell them to go all the way pursuing your dreams," Borne said during her inauguration speech.

"Follow your dreams all the way," Borne added. "Nothing must hold back the fight for the place of women in society."

This developed after the resignation of Castex on Monday. The former mayor was little-known when he became the Prime Minister in July 2020. He also led the country’s response to COVID-19.

Borne, an engineer is also described as a left-wing technocrat.

France is scheduled to hold a general election in June. However, the uncertainties of the June 12 to 19 parliamentary election raise some questions about Borne’s tenure and under the French system where the powers of the president outweigh that of a prime minister, BBC reported.

A powerful leftist-green alliance led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon will challenge the president's centrist party next month, and some speculate that the veteran left-winger could become prime minister.