Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 31 March 2014 to 5 December 2016. Known for his firm stance on security, secularism, and state authority, Valls became one of the most prominent figures of the French Socialist Party during the presidency of François Hollande.

Manuel Valls was born on 13 August 1962 in Barcelona, Spain. His father, Xavier Valls, was a Spanish painter, and his mother, Luisangela Galfetti, came from a Swiss-Italian family. In 1980, he moved to France and settled in Paris, where he studied history at University of Paris Tolbiac. He became a French citizen in 1982.

While at university, Valls joined the National Union of Independent and Democratic French Students. He is multilingual and speaks Spanish, French, Catalan, and Italian fluently.

Between 1988 and 1991, Manuel Valls worked as an advisor on youth affairs to Prime Minister Michel Rocard. In 1993, he joined the leadership of the Socialist Party (France). From 1997 to 2002, he served as press and communications advisor to Prime Minister Lionel Jospin.

In 2002, Valls was elected as a member of the National Assembly of France. He also served as Mayor of Évry from 2001 to 2012 and held a parliamentary seat continuously between 2002 and 2012.

In 2012, Valls ran in the Socialist Party’s presidential primary but was unsuccessful. He subsequently became a key communications advisor during François Hollande’s presidential campaign. Following Hollande’s election, he was appointed Minister of the Interior on 16 May 2012 in the governments formed by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault.

On 31 March 2014, Manuel Valls was appointed Prime Minister of France. His tenure focused on economic reform, labor market flexibility, counterterrorism measures, and the defense of France’s secular republican values. On 5 December 2016, he resigned from office to announce his candidacy in the presidential election.

Marriages and children:
1st marriage: Nathalie Soulié (m. 1987–2007). Children: Benjamin Valls (b. 1991), Ugo Valls (b. 1993), twins Alice Valls (b. 1999) and Joachim Valls (b. 1999).
2nd marriage: Anne Gravoin (m. 1 July 2010), a Moldovan-born Jewish violinist.

Source: Biyografiler.com