Mitterrand, François

Mitterrand, François (-Maurice-Marie)

François Mitterrand.

(credit: Camera Press/Globe Photos)

(born Oct. 26, 1916, Jarnac, France—died Jan. 8, 1996, Paris) President of France (1981–95). After serving in World War II, he was elected to the National Assembly (1946) and held cabinet posts in 11 Fourth Republic governments (1947–58). Moving to the political left, he opposed Charles de Gaulle's government and ran unsuccessfully against him in 1965 but won 32% of the vote. In 1971 he became secretary of the French Socialist Party and made it the majority party of the left, which led to his election as president in 1981. With a leftist majority in the National Assembly, he introduced radical economic reforms, which were modified when a right-wing majority regained power in 1986. Reelected president in 1988, he strongly promoted European integration. His domestic policy was less successful, and France experienced high unemployment. In 1991 he appointed Edith Cresson (b. 1934) prime minister, the first French woman to hold that office (1991–92). A defeat for the Socialists in the legislative elections of 1993 further moderated Mitterrand's policies.