Mitterrand

Mitterrand
Name	Mitterrand
Caption	Official portrait, 1984
Office	President of France
Term start	21 May 1981
Term end	17 May 1995
Predecessor	Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Successor	Jacques Chirac
Office2	Co-Prince of Andorra
Term start2	21 May 1981
Term end2	17 May 1995
Predecessor2	Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Successor2	Jacques Chirac
Primeminister	Pierre Mauroy, Laurent Fabius, Jacques Chirac, Michel Rocard, Édith Cresson, Pierre Bérégovoy
Birth date	26 October 1916
Birth place	Jarnac, Charente, France
Death date	8 January 1996 (aged 79)
Death place	Paris, France
Party	Socialist Party (1971–1996)
Otherparty	SFIO (1944–1964), CIR (1964–1971)
Spouse	Danielle Gouze, 28 October 1944
Children	4, including Jean-Christophe Mitterrand
Alma mater	University of Paris
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Mitterrand. François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was a French statesman who served as the 21st President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest tenure in the history of the French Fifth Republic. A central figure in modern French politics, he was the first Socialist elected to the presidency under the Fifth Republic, ushering in a transformative era of nationalization, decentralization, and major architectural projects. His fourteen-year presidency, marked by periods of cohabitation with right-wing governments, navigated the end of the Cold War, the acceleration of European integration, and significant domestic social reforms.

Early life and education

Born in Jarnac, Charente, into a devout Roman Catholic family, he studied law and political science at the University of Paris. His early political sympathies leaned toward the nationalist right, and he was involved with groups like the Croix-de-Feu. During World War II, he was initially a soldier, was wounded, and became a prisoner of war before escaping in 1941. He subsequently worked for the Vichy regime, receiving the Francisque medal, but later joined the French Resistance, forging connections that would prove vital for his postwar career. This complex wartime experience, moving from Vichy France to the Resistance, created a lasting aura of mystery and political dexterity.

Political career before presidency

After the Liberation of Paris, he began a long ministerial career under the French Fourth Republic, holding numerous portfolios including Minister of the Interior and Minister of Justice. He served under prominent figures like Pierre Mendès France and Guy Mollet. In 1965, he unified the non-Communist left to challenge Charles de Gaulle in the 1965 French presidential election, narrowly losing but establishing himself as the left's principal leader. He founded the Socialist Party in 1971 at the Épinay Congress, forming a strategic alliance with the French Communist Party in the Common Programme of the Left. After losing the 1974 French presidential election to Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, he finally won the presidency in the 1981 French presidential election.

Presidency (1981–1995)

His first term began with a sweeping victory for the Socialist Party in the 1981 French legislative election. His initial government, led by Pierre Mauroy, embarked on an ambitious program of reforms. After a period of economic difficulty and a shift toward austerity, the 1986 French legislative election produced a right-wing majority, forcing the first cohabitation with Prime Minister Jacques Chirac. He was re-elected in the 1988 French presidential election, appointing Michel Rocard as Prime Minister. A second cohabitation followed the 1993 French legislative election with Prime Minister Édouard Balladur, lasting until the end of his second term.

Domestic policies

His early domestic agenda, influenced by Keynesian economics, included major nationalizations of banks and industrial groups like Thomson and Saint-Gobain, the abolition of the death penalty in France, and the decentralization of power to regional councils. He launched the Grands Projets of Paris, including the Louvre Pyramid, Grande Arche de la Défense, Opéra Bastille, and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Facing economic pressures, his government later pivoted to policies of fiscal rigor and European Monetary System discipline. Significant social reforms included the institution of the 39-hour workweek, a fifth week of paid vacation, and the Revenu minimum d'insertion.

Foreign policy

A committed European, he worked closely with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to deepen European integration, championing the Single European Act and the Maastricht Treaty, which was approved by a narrow referendum. He maintained a strong, independent French nuclear deterrent within NATO while often adopting anti-American rhetoric. He supported UNESCO and was a critic of Apartheid in South Africa. His presidency saw the consolidation of Franco-German cooperation as the engine of the European Community, and he navigated the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Personal life and legacy

He was married to Danielle Mitterrand, a noted human rights activist, and had two sons; he also had a long-secret daughter, Mazarine Pingeot, from an extramarital affair. A man of literary culture, he authored several books, including *The Wheat and the Chaff*. Diagnosed with prostate cancer early in his first term, he kept his illness secret from the public for most of his presidency. He died in Paris in 1996. His legacy is complex, viewed as a transformative figure who modernized the French left, shaped modern Paris, and anchored France firmly at the heart of a united Europe, though his early statist economic policies and enigmatic personal history remain subjects of debate.

Category:Presidents of France Category:French Socialists Category:Grand Crosses of the Legion of Honour