NATO member countries were underwriting the creation of a "narco-state"

Pierre Lellouche

President Nicolas Sarkozy has picked veteran politician Pierre Lellouche to be France's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, French officials said Sunday.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the officials said a formal announcement of Lellouche's appointment would be made at the start of this coming week.

It will be accompanied by the creation of a special team that will bring together all government ministries involved with developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Lellouche, 57, who belongs to Sarkozy's conservative UMP party, is a member of the National Assembly and sits on its defence committee. He also heads the French delegation to the NATO parliamentary assembly.

Last year, together with a Socialist legislator, he undertook a parliamentary mission to take stock of both France's military commitment in Afghanistan and NATO's strategy in that country.

He reported that the transatlantic alliance was "not winning the war in Afghanistan" and that taxpayers from NATO member countries were underwriting the creation of a "narco-state".

Pierre Lellouche (May 3, 1951, Tunis, Tunisia) is a French ultra liberal, politician, member of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party. He was also the president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly since November 2004 until 17 November 2006. He was elected deputy of Sarcelles in 1993, and retained his seat at theNational Assembly until 2002. He has been director of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and a member of the Trilateral Commission.

Lellouche defended a traditional view of the family during the discussions concerning the Pacte civil de solidarité (PACS), a form of civil union. He is also a strong opponent of the solidarity tax on wealth (ISF) first voted under François Mitterrand. Now a supporter of Nicolas Sarkozy, UMP candidate for the 2007 presidential election, he is also a member of the UMP group named "Les Réformateurs," counting around 80 deputies, and which advocates ultra-liberal policies.

Lellouche was also the French negotiator concerning the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, finally implanted in Cadarache in France.

He wrotes several books, contributes in many newspaper and magazines. Pierre Lellouche  was very active from its student life.