Monaco’s Prince Albert II has bestowed the rank of Commander of the Order of Saint-Charles upon outgoing Minister of State Pierre Dartout, who will soon pass the baton to Didier Guillaume after four years as the Principality’s highest authority after its Sovereign Prince. 

Almost four years to the day since Pierre Dartout assumed his role as Monaco’s Minister of State in September 2020, the French civil servant has been rewarded for his “exemplary service and unwavering loyalty” by Prince Albert II.  

At a ceremony held in the Palais Princier de Monaco on Tuesday 27th August, the Prince awarded Dartout the rank of Commander of the Order of Saint-Charles, decorating the Limoges native with a medal and adding to his list of formal recognitions, which includes being an Officer of the Legion of Honour and a Commander of the National Order of Merit.

Dartout, who was born in 1954, began his career in government as a Grade 2 civil servant in the French Ministry of the Interior in 1980. He has worked throughout mainland and overseas France over the past four decades, from La Réunion to French Guiana, and from Calvados to the Vendée, the Pays-de-la-Loire and the Loire-Atlantique. 

He has worked as Prefect of numerous French departments and regions, including the Pyrénées-Orientales, the Drôme, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, the Var (between 2004 and 2007), the Val-de-Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, Aquitaine, Gironde, Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes. Locally, he held the positions of Prefect of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, Prefect of the Southern Defence and Security Zone, and Prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône from 2017 until 2020, when he became Minister of State in Monaco.  

In a statement released by the Palace on Monday 10th June, Prince Albert II expressed his “deepest gratitude” to Dartout, noting his “exemplary service and unwavering loyalty”. 

“During his tenure in Monaco, Mr. Dartout enabled the Principality to navigate the health crisis while supporting long-term goals of sustainable development, digital transition, attractiveness and administrative modernisation,” read the statement. 

It was also confirmed in June that Didier Guillaume will formally assume the role of Minister of State on Monday 2nd September.  

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Monaco announces new Minister of State: Didier Guillaume to succeed Pierre Dartout