Biography
"And the light, it's there: in the dazzle of the great Loggia on which you open at once, almost without being warned." Jean-Pierre Angremy, better known under the pseudonym Pierre-Jean Rémy, born in Angoulême on March 21, 1937, is a French diplomat, writer, administrator and academician. He completed his primary and secondary education at the Lycée Condorcet, then studied at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques from 1955 to 1958, at the Faculté de Droit and at the Sorbonne. After assisting Herbert Marcuse at Brandeis University (Massachusetts, USA), he studied at ENA ("Saint-Just" class, 1963). From this point onwards, Pierre-Jean Rémy embarked on a dual career as a diplomat and writer. As a diplomat, he was posted in turn to Hong Kong, where he was vice-consul archivist from 1963 to 1964; to Beijing, where he was second embassy secretary from 1964 to 1966; and then to Europe: his novels and essays were often inspired by the places he visited. After a brief spell at the Cultural Relations Department of the Quai d'Orsay, where he was in charge of artistic exchanges, he was seconded to O.R.T.F. in 1972. He returned to England in 1975, and spent a further four years in London, this time as cultural advisor to the French Embassy.
From 1979 to 1981, he was director of theater and entertainment at the Ministry of Culture. He then remained on assignment for two years, before being appointed Consul General in Florence in early 1985. In April 1987, he was appointed Director General of Cultural, Scientific and Technical Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
From April 1990 to February 1994, he was Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of France to UNESCO; from October 1992, he was a member of the Organization's Executive Board.
He was elected to the Academy Française on June 16, 1988, in chair 40, succeeding Georges Dumézil. This election enabled him to become director of the Academy de France in Rome, from 1994 to 1997. He was then President of the Bibliothèque nationale de France until 2002. Pierre-Jean Rémy's literary career has focused mainly on the novel. Since 1962, he has published some forty works. Many of his novels reflect his passion for the lyric arts, which is also expressed in his contributions to numerous specialized magazines as a columnist. In 1981, this passion led to his being commissioned to draw up the first project for a new opera house in Paris. He was awarded the Prix Renaudot in 1971 for "Le sac du palais d'été", and the Grand Prix du roman de the Academy française in 1986 for "Une ville immortelle". Pierre-Jean Rémy has also collaborated on films and TV series such as Orient-Express, Le Diable au cœur and Le Dernier Été. He was elected the Academy de française on June 16, 1988, to the Georges Dumézil chair (40th chair). Died in Paris on April 27, 2010.