Jospin, Lionel

born July 12, 1937, Meduon, France

French Socialist Party politician who served as the country's prime minister (1997–2002).

He was educated at the elite École Nationale d'Administration. He joined the foreign service and later taught economics at the University Institute of Technology of Paris-Sceaux. He was elected to the National Assembly in 1977 and later was appointed head of the party by Pres. François Mitterrand. He served as minister of education and narrowly lost the presidential election in 1995 to Jacques Chirac. After the Socialists and their allies won a majority in the National Assembly in 1997, he was appointed prime minister by Chirac. He resigned in 2002 after an unsuccessful presidential bid.

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▪ 1998

      On June 1, 1997, the people of France elected a Socialist Party (PS) majority to the National Assembly, and two days later party leader Lionel Jospin assumed the office of prime minister, sending a clear message to Gaullist Pres. Jacques Chirac: his austere plan to guide France into the European Union (EU) was not acceptable. Jospin offered a perfect tonic to Chirac and Prime Minister Alain Juppé, who had angered many French voters with their stern, rather condescending style and their hard-edged policies to privatize industries and cut back entitlements at a rapid pace. During his campaign Jospin showed a ready smile and a clear respect for working people as he argued for a shortened workweek, reduced unemployment, and a more thoughtful transition into the EU. During the first months of his term, however, he surprised many in the business world with his pragmatic leadership. Whereas he often clashed with the conservative Chirac, he also pursued moderate policies of privatization and fiscal restraint that would put France more in step with the global economic environment.

      Born July 12, 1937, in the Parisian suburb of Meudon, Jospin inherited many of his Socialist beliefs from his schoolteacher father. After two years of obligatory military service, he entered (1963) the École Nationale d'Administration, the training ground for nearly all of France's governing elite. He graduated near the top of his class and joined the Foreign Ministry. Amid the protests against Gaullist leadership in the late 1960s, Jospin became restless with his place in the government bureaucracy, and he was sent to the U.S. to study. In 1970 he returned to France and took a position at the University Institute of Technology of Paris-Sceaux, where he taught economics until 1981.

      Jospin joined the PS in 1971 and won his first parliamentary seat six years later. He soon became a favourite of party leader François Mitterrand, and when Mitterrand became president in 1981, Jospin was promoted to the head of the party. As minister of education during Mitterrand's second term, Jospin developed a plan to build new classrooms throughout the country, as well as seven new universities, but he also encountered problems. In 1989 he made the decision to allow Muslim female students to wear the veil in public schools, a violation of the principle of separation of church and state in the view of many French people.

      In the early 1990s Jospin's political career was in severe decline. He lost his Cabinet post in 1992 and his parliamentary seat in 1993. In 1995, with Mitterrand dying of prostate cancer and many of the other PS leaders reeling from revelations of financial improprieties, the party turned to Jospin as its candidate for president. Although Jospin ran with no platform and little fanfare, he astonished everyone by winning the preliminary round of the vote. In the runoff he earned an impressive 47% of the vote but came in second to Chirac. When scandal again haunted the PS leaders in 1997, Jospin was asked to be the party's candidate for prime minister. This time he won.

JAMES HENNELLY

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▪ prime minister of France

born July 12, 1937, Meudon, France

       Socialist Party politician who served as prime minister of France (1997–2002) in a cohabitation government with conservative President Jacques Chirac (Chirac, Jacques).

      Born in the Parisian suburb of Meudon, Jospin inherited many of his socialist beliefs from his schoolteacher father. After two years of obligatory military service, in 1963 he entered the École Nationale d'Administration, the training ground for most of France's governing elite. He graduated near the top of his class and joined the foreign ministry. Amid the protests against Gaullist leadership in the late 1960s, Jospin became restless with his place in the government bureaucracy and went to the United States to study. In 1970 he returned to France and took a position at the University Institute of Technology of Paris-Sceaux, where he taught economics until 1981.

      Jospin joined the Socialist Party in 1971 and won a parliamentary seat six years later. He soon became a favourite of party leader François Mitterrand (Mitterrand, François), and, when Mitterrand became president in 1981, Jospin was promoted to head of the party. As minister of education during Mitterrand's second term, Jospin developed a plan to build new classrooms throughout the country, as well as seven new universities, but he also encountered controversy. In 1989 he made the decision to allow Muslim female students to wear veils in public schools, a violation of the principle of separation of church and state in the view of many French people.

      In the early 1990s Jospin's political career was in severe decline. He lost his cabinet post in 1992 and his parliamentary seat in 1993. With Mitterrand suffering from cancer and other leading Socialists plagued by scandal, the party selected him as its presidential candidate in 1995. Although he ran with no platform and little fanfare, he only narrowly lost to Jacques Chirac, the candidate of the conservative Rally for the Republic party.

      After the Socialists and their allies won a majority in the National Assembly in 1997, Jospin was appointed by Chirac to replace Alain Juppé as prime minister. While in government Jospin kept his campaign pledge to shorten the work week to 35 hours, and his policies sought to reduce unemployment. Although he often clashed with the conservative Chirac, he surprised his critics by pursuing moderate policies of privatization and fiscal restraint. He ran against Chirac for the presidency again in 2002, but, after a lacklustre campaign, Jospin finished third, behind both Chirac and nationalist Jean-Marie Le Pen (Le Pen, Jean-Marie), prompting him to resign as prime minister shortly thereafter.

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