MOSCOW (AP) — Christophe de
Margerie, the charismatic CEO of Total SA who helped establish the
multinational oil company as one of the world's biggest, was killed at a
Moscow airport when his private jet collided with a snowplow whose
driver was reportedly drunk.
As well as
questioning the driver, Russian investigators said Tuesday they were
also assessing whether any mistakes were made by air traffic controllers
in the crash which also killed three French crew members.
The
crash occurred at 11.57 p.m. Monday local time when the French-made
Dassault Falcon 50 burst into flames after hitting the snowplow during
takeoff from Vnukovo airport, which is used by Russian government
officials, including President Vladimir Putin, and visiting foreign
leaders.
"We lost a true friend of our country," Putin said.
Video
from the scene showed the charred plane lying on a grassy field. Though
it had snowed earlier in the day, it was unclear how much snow remained
at the airport at the time of the crash.
The driver of the
snowplow, Vladimir Martynenko, is at the center of the investigation
following allegations, denied by his lawyer, that he was drunk.
"At the current time, it
has been established that the driver of the snowplow was in a state of
alcoholic intoxication," Tatyana Morozova, an official with the
Investigative Committee, Russia's main investigative agency.
As
well as questioning the driver of the snowplow, the committee's
spokesman Vladimir Markin said the role of air traffic controllers in
the incident is being assessed.
De Margerie, 63, was a regular
fixture at international economic gatherings and one of the French
business community's most outspoken and recognizable figures. His
trademark silver handlebar earned him the nickname "Big Mustache."Laurence Parisot, a friend of de Margerie's and the former head of France's business lobby Medef, called him an "immense Frenchman" with "a love of life, laughter and the pleasures of the table."
A critic of sanctions against Russia, de Margerie argued that isolating Russia was bad for the global economy. He traveled regularly to Russia and recently dined in Paris with a Putin ally who is facing EU sanctions over Russia's involvement in the crisis in Ukraine.
Hollande expressed his "stupor and sadness" at the news and praised de Margerie for defending French industry on the global stage, and for his "independent character and original personality."
De
Margerie started working for Total in 1974 after receiving his degree
because it was close to home. It was a difficult time to join the firm
as the OPEC oil embargo, which led to a fourfold increase in prices, was
coming to an end.
"I was
told 'You have made the absolute worst choice. Total will disappear in a
few months,'" he said in a 2007 interview with Le Monde newspaper.
De
Margerie rose through the ranks, serving in several positions in the
finance department and the exploration and production division before
becoming president of Total's Middle East operations in 1995. He became a
member of Total's policy-making executive committee in 1999, CEO in
2007, before adding the post of chairman in 2010.
He
was a central figure in Total's role in the United Nations oil-for-food
program in Iraq, which was launched in the mid-1990s to alleviate the
pressure on the country's people in the wake of the sanctions imposed
after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
The program allowed Iraq
to sell some oil in world markets in return for much-needed humanitarian
needs but came under fire for widespread abuses through to the U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Total,
among others, was accused of breaching the terms of the program. Last
year, the company and de Margerie were acquitted in France of corruption
charges related to the program.
Under
his leadership, Paris-based Total claims it became the fifth-largest
publicly traded integrated international oil and gas company in the
world, with exploration and production operations in more than 50
countries.
"In a big company
like Total, where you have 100,000 employees worldwide, we are based in
130 offices, yet Christophe de Margerie managed to make a connection
with all of us," said Khaled Yousuf, who works as a manager for
affiliate relations at the Paris headquarters.
Jean-Jacques
Guilbaud, Total's secretary general, said the group would continue on
its current path and that the board would meet in coming days to discuss
who will succeed de Margerie. Total planned a minute of silence in its
offices worldwide.
Names
being touted as possible successors include Philippe Boisseau, the head
of Total's new energy division, Patrick Pouyanne, who leads the refining
sector and Arnaud Breuillac, head of exploration and production.
After
dipping slightly early Tuesday, Total's share price closed 3.5 percent
higher, even more than the 2.3 percent rise in the main Paris stock
index.