Giscard d'Estaing, Valéry (välārē` zhēskär` dĕstăN`), 1926–, French political leader, president of France (1974–81); b. Germany. A member of the national assembly at the age of 29, he was deputy finance minister (1959–62) and finance minister (1962–66) in Charles de Gaulle de Gaulle, Charles (shärl də gōl)
..... Click the link for more information. 's government. He held the latter post again in 1969 under President Georges Pompidou Pompidou, Georges Jean Raymond (zhôrzh pôNpēd

`), 1911–74.
..... Click the link for more information. , supporting European economic integration and closer ties with the United States. Leader of the Independent Republicans, a conservative group allied with the Gaullists, he ran for president after Pompidou's death in 1974, defeating Socialist François Mitterrand Mitterrand, François Maurice (fräNswä` mōrēs` mētəräN`)
..... Click the link for more information. . After losing to Mitterrand in 1981, he returned (1984–89, 1993–97) to the national assembly, playing a major role in unifying France's right wing. Giscard has also served in the European Parliament (1989–93, 1997–). In 2001 he was appointed president of the Convention on the Future of Europe, which was charged with drafting a new constitution for the European Union European Community (EC), an economic and political confederation of European nations, and other organizations (with the same member nations) that are responsible for a common foreign and security policy and for cooperation on justice and home affairs.
..... Click the link for more information. ; the draft failed to win EU approval in 2003, but a revised constitution was signed in 2004.

Giscard d'Estaing, Valéry

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 1985.

(born Feb. 2, 1926, Koblenz, Ger.) French political leader, third president of the Fifth Republic (1974–81). He was elected to the National Assembly in 1956. He served as finance minister under Charles de Gaulle (1962–66) and Georges Pompidou (1969–74); in his first term of office France attained its first balanced budget in 30 years, but his conservative policies helped cause a recession and he was dismissed. In 1974 he became president after defeating François Mitterrand and helped strengthen the European Economic Community. In 1981 he was defeated in another runoff election with Mitterrand. Giscard later served in the National Assembly (1984–89) and the European Parliament (1989–93). In 2001 he was appointed by the European Union to chair a convention charged with drafting a constitution for the organization.