Bruno Gollnisch (; born 28 January 1950) is a French academic and politician, a member of the National Front (FN) far-right party. He was a member of the European Parliament and was chairman of the European Parliamentary group 'Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty' in 2007, which was dissolved in November 2007 following the defection of the Greater Romania Party. He was thereafter a Non-Inscrit. Gollnisch has also been the executive vice-president of the FN from 2007 to 2011. He was also a councillor of the Rhône-Alpes région of France. Because of his public comments, and his position in the National Front he is a controversial figure in France. Education Gollnisch was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He studied law, political science and far-eastern languages with the view to becoming a diplomat. He met Jean-Marie Le Pen while studying at Nanterre university. He also became a reserve officer in the French Navy. In 1971–1973 he was granted degrees in Japanese and Malaysian-Indonesian by the INALCO. In 1973, he was awarded a degree in political sciences at Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). He did a masters (DEA) in public law in 1973. In 1974, he began doctoral studies in Law at Kyoto University (Japan). In 1978, he obtained a doctorate in law at Panthéon-Assas University. Since 1980, he has been an attorney at the bar of Paris. Academic career After his return to France, he began a career as juridical advisor, then lawyer. He is a specialist in the law of Eastern Asian countries. He became associate professor of Law at Metz university. In 1981, he became professor of Japanese language and civilisation at the University of Lyon III – a position which he holds to this day. The humanities division of University Lyon 3 is notorious for the profusion of FN supporters and Holocaust deniers among its faculty—most notably, Robert Faurisson. Gollnisch has collaborated with the white nationalist American Renaissance magazine. Political career Gollnisch, who is part of the Catholic faction within the National Front, along with Bernard Antony, joined the "TSM" faction inside the FN (Tout sauf Mégret, Anybody But Mégret) during the 1990s crisis, along with Marine Le Pen, Roger Holeindre, Jean-Claude Martinez, Samuel Maréchal and Martine Lehideux. Gollnisch served as the President of the Alliance of European National Movements (AENM) from 2010 until 2013, when his party left the AENM to join the more moderate European Alliance for Freedom (EAF)