Mitterrand, Francois-Maurice-Marie

▪ 1997

      French statesman (b. Oct. 26, 1916, Jarnac, Fr.—d. Jan. 8, 1996, Paris, Fr.), served two terms (1982-95) as president of France, during which his top priority became the promotion of a united Europe, with close French and German cooperation at its core. He saw his goal realized when agreement was reached on the Maastricht Treaty on European economic and political union in December 1991. He also left as his legacy the abolition of the death penalty, decentralization of the government, and construction of a number of public works. Mitterrand earned a degree in law and political science at the University of Paris and, after the outbreak of World War II, served in the army. He was wounded and captured (1940) by the Germans but escaped after 18 months and returned to France. Mitterrand then served as an official in the collaborationist Vichy government—a fact he kept secret until 1994—but in 1943 he joined the Resistance. Following the liberation of Paris (August 1944), he was a member of Charles de Gaulle's provisional government, and in 1946 he was elected to the National Assembly. The next year he took the first of the numerous Cabinet posts he held in 11 short-lived Fourth Republic governments. With the foundation of the Fifth Republic and de Gaulle's assumption of the leadership of the government in 1958, Mitterrand began forging a union of the opposition. He won enough votes in the 1965 election to force de Gaulle into a runoff for the presidency and—after having become (1971) leader of the Socialist Party (PS)—ran again in 1974. He was once again defeated by a narrow margin, but in 1981 he was elected. As president he instituted a number of economic reforms, but these led to such problems as increases in inflation and unemployment and a soaring trade deficit, and the PS abandoned socialist economic policies in favour of free-market liberalism. After his party lost the 1986 general elections, Mitterrand had to share power with a prime minister from the right wing, Jacques Chirac, in a unique arrangement known as "cohabitation." This lasted until 1988, when Chirac challenged Mitterrand for the presidency and lost. Continuing domestic economic difficulties and some unfortunate political decisions caused the Socialists', and thus Mitterrand's, popularity to slump, and a 1992 referendum on the Maastricht Treaty only narrowly passed. A number of scandals involving Socialist leaders tainted the party even further, and the 1993 elections resulted in a rout and made a new cohabitation necessary. In 1995 Mitterrand, seriously ill with prostate cancer, retired at the end of his term. He had served longer than any other French president.

* * *