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| Rachida Dati: In 2002, she wrote to Sarkozy, saying, 'You need me.' Joel Saget/AP/pool |
In clubby France, a Muslim woman as justice minister
Rachida Dati presents Nicholas Sarkozy's tough law-and-order proposals to the Senate this week.
from the July 3, 2007 edition
Page 4 of 4
An ear – and a model – for minorities
Over the next year, she made numerous forays to the suburbs, meeting at least monthly with a core group of activists. They ended up producing a hefty report on discrimination and held a conference last December.
"We created a real professional relationship," recalls Mr. Hamida. "He gave her the green light and left her the initiative. And Rachida Dati was very good with us. We always had her ear."
None of the young people had been in a government ministry, much less met a minister. Nor had they met many people like themselves – the children of poor and illiterate Arab immigrants – who had achieved success in politics or business.
"A lot of young people in the suburbs don't even have such dreams because they're not exposed to success," says Hamida. "Because no one was doctor or an engineer in their environment, they have the impression that success is reserved for others."
Dati provided a model, he added. "When you see a woman from an immigrant background becoming a minister, you think, 'OK, she worked hard and got somewhere, so it's possible.' "
As the new Justice minister, her diplomatic skills will be put to the test. Many people in the judicial system have been offended over the past few years by Sarkozy's brusque comments and hard-line approach.
Her loyalty to the new president seems heartfelt and personal. "No one ever gave him anything," she once said of Sarkozy. "What he has achieved, he seized on his own. Something about that resonates within me. A refusal to accept destiny, perhaps."
Rachida Dati
• Second of 12 children born to a Moroccan father and Algerian mother
• Raised in public-housing projects
• Earned degrees in economics and law by studying at night
• In 2002, became adviser to then-Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy on relations with immigrant communities
• Appointed justice minister by Sarkozy after he won the presidency in May
Source: Staff
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