Editing Jean-Pierre Bel

[[File:JPB.JPG|400px|thumbnail|left|Jean-Pierre Bel]]
==  Introduction  ==
Jean-Pierre Bel (born December 30, 1951) has been the President of the French Senate since 2011. Bel first entered the Senate of France in 1998 with the Socialist Party and represents the Department of Ariége in the Pyrenees. 

==  Political Career  ==
Bel joined the French Socialist Party in 1983 and was elected Mayor of Mijanés. In 1992, he became a Municipal Councillor for the Mid-Pyrenees. 

Bel joined the National Council of the French Socialist Party in 1993 and from 1994-1997, he served as the National Secretary of Elections. In 1997, he was appointed to the position of Technical Adviser to the Minister of Parliamentary Relations, Daniel Vaillant. 

Bel was first elected to the French Senate in 1998 for the Department of Ariége. From 2001-2004, Bel served as the Secretary of the Senate and after the Senatorial Elections of 2004, he became the Leader of the Socialist Party in the Senate. As a Senator, Bel served on the Committee on Economic Affairs and Planning. 

After the victory of the Left in the Senatorial elections of 2011, Jean-Pierre Bel was elected to the Presidency of the Senate of France. 

==  Education  == 
After attending primary school, Bel obtained a Master's degree in Public Law at the University of Toulouse. 

==  External Links  ==
[http://www.senat.fr/senateur/bel_jean_pierre98006p.html Official Website of the French Senate - Jean-Pierre Bel]