Born in 1949, Jean-Marc Sauvé graduated from the Paris Institute of Political Studies (Sciences Po Paris), holds a degree in economics, and is a former student of the École nationale d’administration (André Malraux class, 1975–1977). He joined the Council of State in 1977 as an auditor.
From 1981 to 1983, he served as technical adviser in the offices of Maurice Faure and Robert Badinter, Ministers of Justice. He then held the positions of Director of General Administration and Equipment at the Ministry of Justice from 1983 to 1988, followed by Director of Civil Liberties and Legal Affairs at the Ministry of the Interior from 1988 to 1994, when he was appointed Prefect of the Aisne department. Appointed Master of Requests at the Council of State in 1983, he became Councillor of State in 1995. From 1995 to 2006, he served as Secretary General of the Government under four successive Prime Ministers: Alain Juppé, Lionel Jospin, Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Dominique de Villepin.
Vice-President of the Council of State from 2006 to 2018, Jean-Marc Sauvé also served as a member of the Atomic Energy Committee from 1995 to 2006, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the French Academy in Rome- Villa Medici from 1999 to 2008, and member of the boards of directors of the Public Institution of the Louvre Museum from 2002 to 2008 and of the National Foundation for Political Science from 2006 to 2018.
In 2010, he chaired the Commission on the Prevention of Conflicts of Interest in Public Life. Upon the proposal of the President of the Court of Justice of the European Union, he chaired from 2010 to 2018 the panel responsible for assessing the suitability of candidates for the positions of judge and advocate general at the Court of Justice and the General Court of the European Union. He also chaired the Association of the Councils of State and Supreme Administrative Jurisdictions of the European Union from 2012 to 2014, as well as the Higher Council of Administrative Tribunals and Administrative Courts of Appeal from 2006 to 2018.
Jean-Marc Sauvé has published numerous articles and delivered lectures on public law, European law, and the relationship between national and European legal systems. He has overseen the drafting of several major reports, notably on ethics in public life, civic engagement, and the material conditions of former Presidents of the French Republic.
He has served as President of the National Foundation of the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris since 20 October 2017 and as Honorary Vice-President of the Council of State since 29 May 2018. From 2018 to 2026, he chaired the Apprentis d’Auteuil Foundation, as well as the Ethics Committees of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee and the Olympic Works Delivery Company (Solideo).
From 2018 to 2021, he chaired the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church, which submitted its report on 5 October 2021. From October 2021 to May 2022, he chaired the independent committee of the General Estates of Justice, which delivered in July 2022 the report entitled Delivering Justice to Citizens. Since February 2023, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Musée d’Orsay and the Musée de l’Orangerie.
Jean-Marc Sauvé has been an Honorary Bencher of the Middle Temple since 2010. He is a Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Commander of the Orders of Arts and Letters and of Academic Palms.
