François Mitterrand Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: François Mitterrand
OCCUPATION: World Leader
BIRTH DATE: October 26, 1916
DEATH DATE: January 08, 1996
EDUCATION: University of Paris
PLACE OF BIRTH: Jarnac, France
PLACE OF DEATH: Paris, France
Full Name: François Maurice Marie Mitterrand
AKA: Francois Mitterrand
AKA: François Mitterrand

Best Known For

François Mitterrand served as France’s president from 1981 to 1995. He was associated with the Socialist Party, and tried to unify the French Left.

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François Maurice Marie Mitterrand

APA Style

François Maurice Marie Mitterrand. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 02:03, May 24, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/fran%C3%A7ois-mitterrand-9410764.

Harvard Style

François Maurice Marie Mitterrand. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/fran%C3%A7ois-mitterrand-9410764 [Accessed 24 May 2013].

MLA Style

"François Maurice Marie Mitterrand." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 24 2013, 02:03 http://www.biography.com/people/fran%C3%A7ois-mitterrand-9410764.

MHRA Style

"François Maurice Marie Mitterrand," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/fran%C3%A7ois-mitterrand-9410764 [accessed May 24, 2013].

Chicago Style

"François Maurice Marie Mitterrand," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/fran%C3%A7ois-mitterrand-9410764 (accessed May 24, 2013).

CBE/CSE Style

François Maurice Marie Mitterrand [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 24] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/fran%C3%A7ois-mitterrand-9410764.

Bluebook Style

François Maurice Marie Mitterrand, http://www.biography.com/people/fran%C3%A7ois-mitterrand-9410764 (last visited May 24, 2013).

AMA Style

François Maurice Marie Mitterrand. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/fran%C3%A7ois-mitterrand-9410764. Accessed May 24, 2013.

Synopsis

François Mitterrand was born on October 26, 1916, in Jarnac, France. Mitterrand served with the French forces during World War II. In 1971, he became secretary of the Socialist Party and tried to unify the French Left. He was elected president in 1981 and again in 1988, retiring at the end of that term. In 1991, Mitterrand appointed the first female prime minister, Edith Cresson.

Profile

French statesman and president (1981–95). Born on October 26, 1916, in Jarnac, France. He studied law and politics at the University of Paris. During World War II, he served with the French forces, was wounded and captured, but escaped and joined the French resistance. He was a deputy in the French National Assembly almost continuously from 1946, representing the constituency of Nievre (near Dijon), and held ministerial posts in 11 centrist governments (1947–58).

Francois Mitterrand opposed de Gaulle's creation of the Fifth Republic, and lost his assembly seat in the 1958 election. For many years he remained a stubborn opponent of de Gaulle. He worked for unification of the French Left, and became secretary of the Socialist Party in 1971.

Following his victory in 1981, Francois Mitterrand embarked on a program of nationalization and job creation in an attempt to combat stagnation and unemployment. He was re-elected president in 1988 and retired at the end of his term. With Kohl, he forged the Treaty of Maastricht on European union in 1991. Following Rocard's resignation in 1991 he appointed the controversial Edith Cresson as prime minister. Bérégovoy, who replaced her, committed suicide following allegations which implicated Mitterrand in deliberately misleading the French public over the economic situation.

During his retirement, revelations emerged of his friendship with wartime Vichy collaborators, political corruption, and extra-marital affairs.