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(October 26, 1916 – January 8, 1996) was a French politician. He was elected President of France in May 1981, re-elected in 1988 and held office until 1995. As of 2006, he holds the record of longest serving (14 years) President of France.

Early career

Mitterrand was born in Jarnac, Charente. In his youth he was a staunch conservative and an ardent Catholic. His first political act was to join the ultranationalist Croix de Feu, which he did in preference to the larger but equally conservative Action Française due to the proscription of the latter organisation by the Vatican. Later he attributed these political acts to the milieu of his youth.

World War

Mitterrand enlisted in the French army during World War II. He fought as an infantry sergeant, was wounded and was taken prisoner of war in 1940. His political views evolved as he met POWs from all kinds of social backgrounds. He escaped from German captivity 6 times within 18 months, arriving home (which was in the zone not occupied by the German forces, but rather in the zone of the fascist French collaborationist Vichy government) in December, 1941. Then he became a mid-level functionary of the Vichy government, but served as a spy for the Free French Forces.

In 1943 he received the Francisque, the honorific distinction of the Vichy regime. When Mitterrand's Vichy past was exposed in the 1950s, he initially denied having received the Francisque.

As the tide turned against Germany, Mitterrand set about building up a resistance network, composed mainly of former Prisoners of War (POWs) like himself. The RNPG was affiliated to General Giraud, himself a former POW who had escaped from a German prison and made his way across Germany back to the Allied forces.

Giraud was then contesting the leadership of the French Resistance with General de Gaulle. Mitterrand himself clashed with Michel Cailliau (aka "Charette"), de Gaulle's nephew.

In November 1943, the Gestapo raided a flat in Vichy where they hoped to arrest a resister called François Morland. "Morland" was Mitterrand's cover name. The man they arrested was Pol Pilven, a resister who was to survive the war in a concentration camp. Mitterrand was in Paris at the time. Warned by his friends, he escaped to London aboard a Lysander plane.

From there he went to Algiers where he met de Gaulle who was now the uncontested leader of the Free French. The two men did not get on: Mitterrand refused to merge his group with other POW movements if Cailliau was to be the leader.

He later returned to France via England by boat. In Paris the Resistance groups made up of POWs finally merged as the MNPGD. Cailliau did not become leader.

When de Gaulle entered Paris, following the Liberation, he was introduced to various men who were to be part of the provisional government. Amongst them was Mitterrand. When they came face-to-face, de Gaulle is said to have muttered: "You again!"

Fourth Republic

After the war he quickly moved back into politics. In 1946 he was elected as a Deputy for the Nièvre département and in 1947 joined a centerist grouping, the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (UDSR). He held various offices in the Fourth Republic as a Deputy and as a Minister (holding eleven different portfolios in total). Overseas minister (1950-1951), he opposed colonial lobby to propose reforms programme. He connected with the left when he resigned from government after the arrest of Marrocco's sultan (1953) and when he was interior minister in Pierre Mendès-France's cabinet (1954-1955). But, as justice minister (1956-1957), he allowed the expansion of martial law in Algerian conflict. Furthemore, contrary to other ministers, he remained in Guy Mollet's cabinet until his end. Under the Fourth Republic, he was representative of a generation of young ambitious politicians. He appeared like a possible future Prime minister.

In May 1948, Mitterrand participated together with Konrad Adenauer, Winston Churchill, Harold Macmillan, Paul-Henri Spaak, Albert Coppé and Altiero Spinelli, in the Congress of The Hague, where lie the origins of European Movement.

Fifth Republic and opposition to de Gaulle

In 1958, he was one of the few to object to the nomination of Charles de Gaulle as head of government, and de Gaulle's plan for a French Fifth Republic. He justified his opposition by the circumstances of De Gaulle's comeback: the May 13, 1958 riot and the militrary pressure. In September 1958, determinedly opposed to Charles de Gaulle, Mitterrand made an appeal to vote "no" on the referendum over the Constitution, which was nevertheless adopted on October 4 1958.

This attitude may have been a factor in Mitterrand's losing his seat in the 1958 elections, beginning a long "crossing of the desert" (note: this term is usually applied to de Gaulle's decline in influence for a similar period). Mitterrand was elected to represent Nièvre in the Senate in 1959, where he was part of the Group of the Democratic Left.

Also in that same year, on the Avenue de l'Observatoire in Paris, Mitterrand escaped an assassin's bullet by diving behind a hedge. The incident brought him a great deal of publicity, boosting his political ambitions. Some of his critics claim that he had staged the incident himself. Prosecution was initiated on the issue but was later dropped.

In 1964, he became President (chairman) of the General Council of Nièvre. He took the leading role in Convention des Institutions Républicaines (CIR) and published Le Coup d'État permanent, which re-enforced his position as a left-wing opponent to Charles de Gaulle.

1965 presidential election and aftermath

In 1965, although nominally a representative of a minor political formation (CIR), he was chosen as the common candidate of the Left (SFIO, PCF, PR, PSU) for the 1965 presidential election. His results in the first round were surprising -- 31.72% of votes and second place after De Gaulle and centrist candidate Jean Lecanuet third (15%). In the second round, Mitterrand was supported by the left and also by centrist Jean Monnet, moderate conservative Paul Reynaud and Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour, an extreme right-winger, who defended General Raoul Salan in his trial.

Mitterrand gained 44.8% of votes in the second round and De Gaulle was thus elected for another term, but this defeat was regarded as honourable, for no-one was expected to beat De Gaulle at the time. He took the lead of a center-left conglomerate: the Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left (FGDS).

In the legislative election March, 1967, the majoritarian system where all the candidates who failed to pass 10% threshold in the first round were eliminated from the second round, favorised the pro-Gaullist majority which faced the split opposition (PC, PS and centrists of Jacques Duhamel). Nevertheless, 194 seats for the parties of left managed to gain 63 seats more than before. The Communists remained the largest left-wing force with 22,5% of votes. The governing coalition won with the majority reduced to only one seat (247 seats out of 487).

In Paris, the first turn, the Left (FGDS, PSU, PC) even managed to win more votes in the first round than the two governing parties (46% against 42,6%) whereas the Democratic Center of Duhamel got 7% of votes. But with the exceptional 38% of votes the Union for Fifth Republic remained the first party of France (René Rémond, Notre siècle, 1988, Fayard, p.664 et s.).

Following the May 1968 crisis, De Gaulle called for early election: as a result of this election, the Right won the biggest majority since Bloc National in 1919.

In 1969, Mitterrand discredited with that defeat, could not run for presidency: Guy Mollet refused to accord the support of SFIO. The Left was eliminated in the first round, and Georges Pompidou faced centrist Alain Poher in the second round.

1970s

In June 1971, at the time of Congrès of Épinay, CIR fused with Socialist Party (as SFIO was called beginning with 1969). The executive of PS was always dominated by Guy Mollet's friends. They proposed an "ideological dialogue" with the Communists. For François Mitterrand an electoral alliance was necessary to rise to power. With this project, he was elected premier secretary of PS.

In June 1972, he signed the Common Programme of Government with Georges Marchais (PCF) and Robert Fabre (Mouvement des radicaux de gauche).

On May 19 1974, the common candidate of the Left, François Mitterrand faced Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in the second round of presidential election. He was defeated in a near tie by Giscard d'Estaing, Mitterrand scoring (49.19%) and Giscard (50.81%).

Interestingly, Soviet ambassador to Paris and the director of L'Humanité did not hide their satisfaction with the defeat. According to Jean Lacouture, Raymond Aron and François Mitterrand himself, the Soviet government and the French communist leaders had done everything in order to prevent Mitterrand from being elected: they regarded him as too anti-communist and too skilful in his strategy of rebalancing the Left at Communists' expense.

Presidency

In the French Presidential Election of 1981 he became the first socialist President of the Fifth Republic, and his government the first left-wing government in 23 years. One of his first decisions was to ask Parliament to abolish the death penalty; Parliament also voted in a wealth tax in the first year of his first term as President. The socialist government's measures, aimed at a more equal distribution of wealth and overcoming the economic stagnation, were often fervently opposed by the right-wing parties. They were also undermined from the outset by massive capital flight from the country. Mitterrand also expressed support for left-wing cause in Central American countries such as El Salvador, causing some tensions with the United States.

However, Mitterrand's foreign policies could be regarded as more pro-West than those of his predecessors. Mitterrand supported closer European collaboration; in no way did France approach the USSR, so that on the occasion of Mitterrand's visit to the USSR (in November 1988) the Soviet media could mark 'leaving aside the virtually wasted decade and the loss of Soviet-French 'special relations' of the Gaullist era'.

Domestically, his aims were blunted first by a series of financial crises, and then by a conservative parliament (from 1986 to 1988, and 1993 to 1995). Various "great projects" were completed during his Presidency, including the Channel Tunnel, the pyramid at the Louvre (1988), the Grande Arche at La Défense (1989), and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (1995). Mitterrand also presided over the celebrations of the bicentenary of the French Revolution in 1989.

His major achievements came internationally, especially in the European Economic Community. He supported the extension of the Community to Spain and Portugal (who both joined in January 1986) and in February 1986 he helped the Single European Act come into effect. He worked well with Helmut Kohl and improved Franco-German relations measurably. Together they fathered the Maastricht Treaty, which was signed on February 7, 1992.

Controversy surrounding the discovery of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was intense after American researcher Robert Gallo and French scientist Luc Montagnier both claimed to have discovered it. The two scientists had given the new virus different names. The controversy was eventually settled by an agreement (helped along by the mediation of Dr Jonas Salk) between President Ronald Reagan and Mitterrand which gave equal credit to both men and their teams. This was an extraordinary event, which ignored scientific realities and was the first time a biological controversy had had to be resolved at such an elevated political level. Clearly, Mitterrand and Reagan felt that this was not an issue for two great nations to fall out over.

On 2 February 1993, in his capacity as co-prince of Andorra, Mitterrand and Joan Martí Alanis, who was Bishop of Urgell and therefore Andorra's other co-prince, signed Andorra's new constitution, which was later approved by referendum in the principality.

Because the Left had had a series of defeats in national elections since 1958 when Mitterrand was elected in 1981, he was largely regarded as the savior of the Left and for this reason was highly regarded by many Socialists, perhaps to the point of ridicule (the so-called tontonmania, from tonton, or "uncle", Mitterrand's nickname). Critics contend that this led to complacency and tolerance for Mitterrand's shortcomings: a monarchic style of presidency reminiscent of that of Charles de Gaulle, lack of transparency regarding his early career and his ties to Vichy, and other scandals (see below).

In 1986 Mitterrand's socialists lost their majority in parliament and he was obliged to appoint Jacques Chirac as Prime Minister. This period of government, with a socialist President and conservative Prime Minister, was the first time that such a combination had occurred under the Fifth Republic and was known as the Cohabitation. Chirac handled mostly interior politics while Mitterrand concentrated on foreign affairs.

Mitterrand was re-elected in 1988. His second term as President ended in May 1995, having served longer in the post than any other man. He was succeeded by Chirac. Mitterrand died of advanced prostate cancer eight months later at the age of 79.

His wife, Danielle Mitterrand, is a left-wing activist. The Mitterrands had two sons: Jean-Christophe and Gilbert Mitterrand. He also had a daughter, Mazarine Pingeot; see below. His nephew Frédéric Mitterrand is a journalist, and his brother-in-law Roger Hanin a well-known actor.

List of prime ministers during Mitterrand's presidency

- style="background:#efefef;" 		Prime minister from to Notes
- 		Pierre Mauroy 1981 1984
- 		Laurent Fabius 1984 1986 The youngest PM since Decazes (39 years old)
- 		Jacques Chirac 1986 1988 First cohabitation of the Fifth Republic
- 		Michel Rocard 1988 1991
- 		Édith Cresson 1991 1992 First (and yet only) female prime minister
- 		Pierre Bérégovoy 1992 1993
- 		Edouard Balladur 1993 1995 Second Cohabitation

Scandals and controversies of Mitterrand's presidency and death

Mitterrand came under fire in 1992 when it was revealed that he had arranged for the laying of a wreath of flowers on the grave of Philippe Pétain each Armistice Day since 1987. The placing of such a wreath was not without precedent: Presidents Charles de Gaulle and Valéry Giscard d'Estaing had wreaths placed on Pétain's grave to commemorate the 50th and 60th anniversaries of the end of World War I (Pétain having been the leader of French forces at the dramatic Battle of Verdun), and President Georges Pompidou similarly had a wreath placed in 1973 when Pétain's remains were returned to the Ile d'Yeu after being stolen. Mitterrand's annual tributes, however, marked a departure from those of his predecessors, and offended sensibilities at a time when France was re-examining its culpability in the Holocaust.

Following his death, a controversy erupted when his former physician, Dr Claude Gubler, wrote a book called Le Grand Secret ("The Great Secret") explaining that Mitterrand had had false health reports published since November 1981, hiding his cancer. Mitterrand's family then prosecuted Gubler and his publisher for violating medical secrecy.

Mitterrand, a married man, had numerous affairs; one was with Anne Pingeot, out of which a daughter, Mazarine, was born. Mitterrand sought secrecy on that issue, which lasted until November 1994, when Mitterrand's failing health and impending retirement meant he could no longer count on the fear and respect he had once engendered among French journalists. Also, Mazarine, a college student, had reached an age where she could no longer be protected as a minor.

From 1982 to 1986, Mitterrand established an "anti-terror cell" installed as a service of the president of the republic. This was a fairly unusual setup, since such law enforcement missions against terrorism are normally left to the French National Police and Gendarmerie, run under the cabinet and the Prime Minister, and under the supervision of the judiciary. The cell was largely made from members of these services, but it bypassed the normal line of command and safeguards.

Most markedly, it appears that the cell, under illegal presidential orders, obtained wiretaps on journalists, politicians and other personalities who may have been an impediment for Mitterrand's personal affairs, especially those who may have revealed the situation of Mazarine and her mother. The illegal wiretapping was revealed in 1993 by Libération; the case against members of the cells went to trial in November 2004. [http://www.netscape.qc.ca/article/?cat=Monde&article=M111351AU&ch=a

Pelat (who had died naturally in 1989) was also one of Mitterrand's closest friends; one of the few people who could address him in the familiar rather than the formal way of the French language. They had first met in a POW camp in Germany and Pelat had been Mitterrand's best man. Pelat had the free run of the Elysee Palace, and even on one occasion walked into Mitterrand's office when he was having a private conversation with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The latter was astonished when Mitterrand simply introduced Pelat to him as a close friend. (This according to the author Jean Montaldo). However his business practices were dubious to say the least. At the time of his death he was being investigated on charges of insider dealing.

On April 7 1994, the body of François de Grossouvre was found in his office at the Elysee, with a bullet in his head. De Grossouvre had been Mitterrand's friend and confidant for over 40 years. Working in the President's shadow, he was deeply involved in the highest secrets of state, foreign policy and family. He was the godfather of Mazarine Pingeot, Mitterrand's illegitimate daughter. Officially de Grossouvre's death was suicide, but some believe that there was more to it than that.

Admiral Pierre Lacoste, the former head of the DGSE, confirmed in July 2005 that Mitterrand had personally authorized the bombing of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior, in Auckland harbour, New Zealand, on July 10, 1985. The vessel was preparing to protest against French nuclear testing in the South Pacific when the explosion sank the ship, killing photographer Fernando Pereira. The New Zealand government called the bombing the country's first terror attack. *

Political offices held by Mitterrand

Fourth Republic

Fifth Republic

Famous quotes

  • "Behind each great man, there's a Richard Delisle." (The Bee and the Architect, chapter 6)

External links

Presidents of France | Members of the French Socialist Party | French Resistance members | Karlspreis laureates | Alumni of Sciences Po | Natives of Poitou-Charentes | Recipients of the Royal Victorian Chain | Knights Grand Cross of the Bath | Deaths by prostate cancer | 1916 births | 1996 deaths

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