Great-niece of the councilor of Saint-Pierre and senator Henri Claireaux, she is the eldest of four siblings; her mother was a housewife and her father, after fishing activities, ran a family bakery business. She lived until the age of six at her grandfather's, a chief of public works. She became a mother at the age of sixteen, giving birth to a girl, future weather presenter and host of a cooking show on the local TV channel. His companion is Jean-François Vigneau, territorial advisor of Saint Pierre and Miquelon who succeeds in 2016 to the advisory commission of local public services. She holds the diploma of socio-cultural animator. In March 2016, journalists Sylvie Koffi and Shaman Dolpi devoted a 52-minute documentary film, "Annick, the pirate of hope", a co-production France Télévisions and AYA Reportage, with the participation of TV5Monde. The film, which looks back on its journey, took six months of filming, from Saint-Malo to Saint Pierre and Miquelon via Mali and Tunisia.
In the French legislative elections that took place on 9 June and 16 June 2002 to elect the 12th National Assembly of the Fifth Republic, Annick Girardin was the candidate for the Radical Party of the Left in the Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelonconstituency. Obtaining 14.8% of the vote on 9 June, she was eliminated from the second round. Five years later, in the 2007 French legislative elections, she obtained 31.1% in the first round, only 132 votes behind the incumbent. In the second round, one week later, she got 51.27% of the vote and was elected deputy for the Radical Party of the Left. In the 2012 French legislative elections, she was re-elected in the first round with 65.53%. Her substitute was Catherine Pen. In the 2017 French legislative elections, she was re-elected with 51.87%. Her substitute was Stéphane Claireaux.
On 9 April 2014, Annick Girardin was appointed Secretary of State Development and Francophonie in the Valls Cabinet. Catherine Pen, her substitute, therefore succeeded her as deputy but resigned on the same day due to health problems. A by-election was then organised and Annick Girardin was again a candidate for the National Assembly. She won on the first electoral round on 29 June 2014. She retained the position of Secretary of State and her substitute Stéphane Claireaux became the deputy on 30 July 2014. On 27 June 2014, she was appointed president François Hollande's "personal representative" to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
She was appointed Minister of Public Service in the Second Valls government, replacing Marylise Lebranchu, during the reshuffle of February 11, 2016. On December 9, 2016, Émile Zuccarelli presented her with the "Laïcité and public service" report containing twenty proposals. The minister then undertook to implement six priority: mandatory training of officials to secularism, a secular referent in each administration, the creation of an Internet portal on the subject, a day of exchange on secularism and a brochure given to public officials when they take office.
On May 17, 2017, Annick Girardin was appointed Minister of Overseas Territories in the Édouard Philippe government. Candidate in the 2017 legislative election of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, she was reelected in the second round with 51.87% of the vote. She sat for a month in the National Assembly, where she was a member of the La République en marche group. She keeps her ministry. In September 2017, she managed the relief work following the destruction caused by hurricane Irma in Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy. In March 2018, she had to deal with social unrest in Mayotte, the inhabitants protesting against illegal immigration and delinquency. She went to the island on March 12. On May 15, 2018, Girardin presented her catch-up plan for Mayotte. It was broken down into six chapters, 53 commitments and 125 actions for a total cost of 1.3 billion euros out of the national education budget.
