Dominique de Villepin was born on 14 November 1953 in Rabat, Morocco.

After graduating from the École nationale d'administration (ENA), he became a diplomat and was assigned to the French Embassy in Washington from 1984 to 1989, then to the French Embassy in New Delhi until 1992.

In 1993, he headed Alain Juppé's office at the Quai d'Orsay. Jacques Chirac appointed him Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic, a position he held from 1995 to 2002. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Iraq crisis.

He joined the Home Office from 31 March 2004 to 31 May 2005 (2nd Raffarin government), before being appointed Prime Minister on 31 May 2005.