A member of the Republican Party, the liberal-conservative component of the Union for French Democracy (UDF), he appeared in the foreground of the political scene in the 1980s.

[2] As culture minister from 1986 to 1988,[3] he sold the main public TV channel TF1.

Elected president of the UDF in 1996, he could not prevent the split of this confederation two years later with Alain Madelin's secession.

This and the party's poor showing in the 1998 regional elections prompted his resignation.

In 2003, he created together with other prominent European personalities the Medbridge Strategy Center, whose goal is to promote dialogue and mutual understanding between Europe and the Middle East.

Léotard wrote also several books including non-fiction and a couple of novels:[9]