List of mathematician-politicians

Historians of mathematics have noted the involvement of prominent mathematicians in politics at various times and places, notably in Italy during the period of unification at the end of the nineteenth century.[1]

Those who become legislators attempt to use their mathematical skills to legitimise their political positions.[1] However, some parliamentary colleagues tend to view them as failing to connect with the real world.[1]

A maths columnist for Forbes suggested in 2018 that mathematicians in politics would contribute strengths including problem-solving, creativity, overcoming challenges, and collaboration.[2]

John Derbyshire observed in 2003 that mathematicians have no dominant tendency; for example, Cauchy was a reactionary whereas Galois was a radical.[3] He opines that the most influential research mathematicians do not give much thought to politics.[4]

## Notable mathematician-politicians

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This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (June 2021)

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This is a list of people who at some points in their lives achieved notability both as academically trained mathematicians (with a graduate degree, or published in mathematical journals) and also as elected politicians (at a state or national level).

* Tadatoshi Akiba (born 1942), member of parliament and mayor of Hiroshima in Japan
* Kazimierz Bartel (1882–1941), prime minister and senator in Poland
* Muhammad Baydoun (1952–2022), member of parliament and government minister in Lebanon
* Vaclav Benda (1946–1999), senator in the Czech Republic
* Alberto Beneduce (1877–1944), member of the Italian Reformist Socialist Party and minister of labour and social security
* Boris Berezovsky (1946–2013), member of the security council and parliament of Russia
* Daniel Biss (born 1977), member of the Illinois Senate and mayor of Evanston, Illinois in the United States
* Émile Borel (1871–1956), member of parliament and government minister in France
* Francesco Brioschi (1824–1897), member of parliament in Italy
* Rudranath Capildeo (1920–1970), member of parliament in Trinidad and Tobago
* Lazare Carnot (1753–1823), member of parliament and government in France
* Ahmed Chalabi (1944–2015), member of parliament and government in Iraq
* Marquis de Condorcet (1743–1794), member of parliament in France
* Luigi Cremona (1830–1903), senator and government minister in Italy
* Nicușor Dan (born 1969), President of Romania, former deputy and mayor of Bucharest
* Ulisse Dini (1845–1918), member of parliament in Italy
* Charles Dupin (1784–1873), government minister and senator in France
* Sergio Fajardo (born 1956), department governor in Colombia
* Ute Finckh-Krämer (born 1956), member of parliament in Germany
* Taj Haider (born 1942), senator in Pakistan
* Daniel Hershkowitz (born 1953), member of the Knesset and government minister in Israel
* Reinhard Höppner (1948–2014), minister-president of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany
* Eri Jabotinsky (1910–1969), member of the Knesset in Israel
* Hermine Agavni Kalustyan (1914–1989), member of parliament in Turkey
* Pope Leo XIV (born 1955), Head of the Catholic Church
* Alexander Lubotzky (born 1956), member of the Knesset in Israel
* Jerry McNerney (born 1951), congressman in the United States
* Michael Meister (born 1961), member of parliament in Germany
* Luigi Federico Menabrea (1809–1896), prime minister of Italy
* Keith Mitchell (born 1946), prime minister of Grenada
* Gaspard Monge (1746–1818), government minister in France
* Mohammad-Ali Najafi (born 1952), minister of education in Iran and mayor of Tehran
* Chike Obi (1921–2008), member of parliament in Nigeria
* Paul Painlevé (1863–1933), prime minister of France
* Frederick Pollock (1783-1870), member of parliament in the United Kingdom
* Hugo Relander (1865–1947), minister of finance in Finland
* Walter Romberg (1928–2014), minister in East Germany's only democratically elected government
* George Saitoti (1945–2012), vice-president of Kenya
* Blagovest Sendov (1932–2020), chairman of the national assembly of Bulgaria
* Frank Terpe (1929–2013), minister in East Germany's only democratically elected government
* Faustin-Archange Touadéra (born 1957), prime minister and president of the Central African Republic
* Cédric Villani (born 1973), deputy in France

## References

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1. ^ a b c Durand, Antonin (March 2017). "Mathematicians and politics: new research scenarios?". Lettera Matematica. 4 (3–4). Springer Milan: 161–165\. doi:10.1007/s40329-016-0149-x. ISSN 2281-5937. S2CID 151442761.3–4&rft.pages=161-165&rft.date=2017-03&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:151442761#id-name=S2CID&rft.issn=2281-5937&rft_id=info:doi/10.1007/s40329-016-0149-x&rft.aulast=Durand&rft.aufirst=Antonin&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:List+of+mathematician-politicians" class="Z3988">
2. ^ Crowell, Rachel (24 August 2018). "Mathematicians Would Make Great Elected Officials. Here's Why". Forbes. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
3. ^ Derbyshire, John (October 2003). "Politics, Religion, and Prime Obsession". Archived from the original on 2005-02-07. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
4. ^ Derbyshire, John (12 February 2005). "The Politics of Mathematicians". National Review. Retrieved 23 July 2019.