1968, she continued her studies in private law, political science, and legal history at both Panthéon-Assas University, earning a Doctor of Law degree there in 1973 with her thesis Salarié actionnaire (English: "Employee Shareholders"), and Pantheon-Sorbonne University, where she earned a Doctorate in political science in 1982 and defended her thesis Décisions politiques et structures administratives (English: "Political Decisions and Administrative Structures"). During her university years, she was a member of the right-wing student union UNI. She also holds a Certificat d'aptitude à la profession d'avocat (English: "Certificate of Aptitude for Practicing Law"), also known as a CAPA; a certificate in African laws and economics; and a master's degree in ethnology. Before her career in politics, she was a senior lecturer at the Paris-I University (Panthéon-Sorbonne), and also spent some time practicing law. She is also a recipient of the Faculty of Law and Economics. University, private sector, and early political career During her university studies, Alliot-Marie (then still known as Michèle Marie) began having a relationship with her then-law professor , who was also chief of staff to then-Education Minister (1968-1969) Edgar Faure. Marie and Alliot married in 1971, thus gaining her frequent access to academic and corporate environments; this also led to a name change from Michèle Marie to her name since then, Michèle Alliot-Marie. She was first assistant at Panthéon-Assas University and then the University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne between 1970 and 1984, before becoming a Maître de conférences (equal to an associate professor) in public law from 1984, a position she left when she got elected to the French National Assembly in 1986. In 1972, she became a technical adviser to Edgar Faure, who was by then the Minister of Social Affairs until 1976; and then she was a technical adviser to then-Secretary of State for Universities Jean-Pierre Soisson. She then became an adviser to then-Minister of Departments and Overseas Territories Bernard Stasi from 1973 to 1974, and then to then-Secretary of State for Tourism in 1974. She then became the Chief of Staff to then-Secretary of State and Minister of Universities from 1976 to 1978 before working in the private sector as an administrator of CEO of the company Uta-Indemnité between 1979 and 1985. She also practiced as a lawyer during this time. Career Local politics Alliot-Marie started her electoral career in 1983 as Municipal Councillor for the Basque-area village of Ciboure (in the former province