Gérard Collomb, born on June 20 1947 in Chalon-sur-Saône, Saône-et-Loire, is a French politician. He is an active member of the French Socialist Party and has been Mayor of Lyon (Rhône) since March 2001.
He was elected as a Socialist municipal councillor for the 9th arrondissements in the French municipal elections, 1977. In 1981, he was elected to the French National Assembly at age thirty-four. From 1989 on, he led by the municipal opposition to Michel Noir in the Lyon municipal council. From 1992 to 1999 he also served as regional councillor for the Rhône-Alpes region.
Defeated in the 1995 local elections in Lyon, he ran as leader of the Plural Left list in the 2001 local elections. He was elected Mayor on 25 March and also elected as president of the Urban Community of Lyon. Among his realizations is the Vélo'v.
In 2004, he was re-elected Senator for the Rhône. He was overwhelmingly re-elected Mayor of Lyon in March 2008, defeating Dominique Perben of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) by the first round in a landslide.
Ahead of the Reims Congress, he is the leader of the Hope on the left, proud to be Socialist (L'espoir à gauche, fier(e)s d'être socialistes) motion of behalf of Ségolène Royal.
