Loïc Fauchon, President of the World Water Council

Loïc Fauchon graduated in 1970 from the Institut d'études politiques d'Aix-en-Provence - Political Sciences- then to obtain a doctorate in economics and tourism law.

He first completed a high-level career in the French decentralized civil service. His career path took him from a river basin management syndicate -the Syndicat du Verdon- to the Regional and then Department Public Council -Conseil régional Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Conseil général des Bouches-du-Rhône. He finally was in charge of the Deputy General Secretariat of the City of Marseille including the position of Chief of Cabinet to the Mayor of the city.

His taste for public service was also affirmed when he became, in 1989 and until 1997, the elected mayor of Trets, a commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône, South of France.

In 1991, he became General Manager of the Société des Eaux de Marseille (Sem, water supply and environment services company of Marseille), and then Chairman and CEO in 1997 and Chairman in 2018. SEM is the main operator for water and waste water services for more than 3 million people, in urban and rural areas in the South of France.
He knows all the more about the vital importance of water as he carries out numerous missions throughout the world - and, in particular, in sub-Saharan Africa - within the framework of "TransSahara", a humanitarian association that he founded in 1977 to come to the aid of populations in emergency situations.

Loïc Fauchon's vocation to serve the "cause of water" is also illustrated, on an international scale, by his commitment to the World Water Council, which he chaired for nearly ten years (2005-2012) and of which he has been President again since December 2018, and recently re-elected in December 2022 for a 3-years mandate.
The World Water Council, which brings together nearly 400 organizations including nearly 70 governments, UN agencies, the World Bank and all development banks, created the World Water Forum. Loïc Fauchon has personally contributed to the organization of each of the 10 World Water Forums.

At the international level, he promotes a political vision of access to water and sanitation and has developed the concepts of hydrodiplomacy and water security that are universally used today.

He has been co-chairing the jury of the Hassan II Grand Prize for Water for over fifteen years.

He also has numerous responsibilities in the field of water and the environment and advises various international organizations and governments on the development of water policies. He is also a member of the United Nations High Level Panel of Experts on Water Disasters (HELP).

He was made an Officer of the prestigious French Legion of Honour in 2024. He was born on 20 June 1948.