Frédéric Mitterrand, the nephew of the late Socialist president François Mitterrand, has been appointed France's culture minister by French president Nicolas Sarkozy, reports Angelique Chrisafis for The Guardian. Mitterrand has spent the past eight months as head of the Villa Médicis French cultural academy in Rome, one of the most prestigious French cultural institutions abroad. A former teacher, Mitterrand ran cinemas in Paris before reinventing himself as a television host, producer, and director in the 1980s and 1990s. He was famous for his arts and history programs and commentating on royal events on TV. He also presented a show on France's first gay cable channel, Pink TV. Mitterrand said the culture ministry was “an exciting task and an honor.”