Jacques Chirac
| Famous as | Politician, Ex-President of France, Ex-Prime Minister of France and Ex-Mayor of Paris |
| Born on | 29 Novomber 1932 |
| Born in | Paris, France |
| Nationality | France |
| Works & Achievements | Second-longest serving President of France |
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Childhood
Jacques Chirac was born on November 29, 1932, in Paris, France. He
was the only child of his parents, as his elder sister, Jacqueline, died
as infant even before he was born. His father, Abel Francois Chirac,
was an executive for an aircraft company, and mother Marie-Louise
Valette was a housewife. The great grandparents of Chirac, on both
paternal and maternal side, were peasants. However, his two grandfathers
were teachers from Sainte-Féréole in Corrèze. He received education in
Paris from the Lycée Carnot and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand.
Early Life
Jacques Chirac completed his graduation in 1953, in Political Science, from the Institut d'Etudes Politiques, which was one of the prestigious institutes of France, at that time. He also received education at the Ecole Nationale d'Administration.. At the age of 20, he won a scholarship to study at Harvard Business
School (USA). Around this time, Chirac joined the French Communist
Party, sold copies of L'Humanité, and took part in meetings of a
communist cell. He also signed the Soviet-inspired Stockholm Appeal for
the abolition of nuclear weapons, something that led to his questioning
when he applied for his first visa to the U.S.
Early Political Career
As a bureaucrat, Jacques Chirac was interested in the issues like
growth and modernization which went side by side with the policies of
Gaullist government. He joined a politician's personal staff in the government,
in 1962. Chirac was an economic adviser, whom Gaullist admired the
most. He played an important role in the spectacular economic growth of
France. He was elected as the municipal council of the tiny Correzian
town of Sainte-Fereol, his home town, in 1965. Although Chirac's family
origins lay in the rural Correze department, he was elected to the
National Assembly from that area repeatedly, from 1967 to 1995. During
these years, Chirac's political influence within the Gaullist party
grew.
Chirac was trained and posted as a reserve officer in armoured
cavalry at Saumur. He also participated in the Algerian War. He worked
as a civil servant in the Court of Auditors, after leaving ENA, in 1959.
Soon, Chirac was serving as the head of the personal staff of Prime
Minister Georges Pompidou, which helped him in his political career. For
a seat in the National Assembly, in 1967, Chirac ran as a Gaullist. He
was elected as the deputy of Corrèze département, a stronghold of the
left. This surprising victory allowed him to enter the government as Minister of Social Affairs. Chirac worked as State Secretary of Economy from 1968 to 1971.
Chirac worked in the Ministry of Relations, with Parliament, for
sometime. In 1969, he was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture and
Rural Development.Soon, he attracted international attention, when he
criticized agricultural policies of U.S., West German, and European
Commission, which were in conflict with French interests. In 1974, when
Raymond Marcellin resigned from his post, Chirac took his post and
became Minister of the Interior. His political career got wings with the
presidential election of 1974. He held number of government posts under the presidency of Pompidou and was appointed as Interior Minister, just before President Georges Pompidou died.
Being The Prime Minister
In the elections of 1974, Jacques Chirac supported the successful
Valery Giscard d'Estaing, rather than Gaullist candidate Chaban Delmas.
The new president chose Chirac for the post of prime minister. However,
Chirac's years as prime minister were not easy. His views and ideas on
the role for the state differed from that of President Giscard. In
addition, there was strong conflict between Prime Minister Chirac's and
President Giscard's ambitions on their style of working for countries
progress. He also faced the hostility of "Barons of Gaullism", over his
role in the previous elections. Chirac resigned from the position of
Prime Minister, in 1976, citing Giscard's unwillingness to give him
authority, as the reason.
Member of Opposition & Mayor
After resigning from the post of Prime Minister, Jacques Chirac
formed the Rally for the Republic (RPR). Originating from the Union of
Democrats for the Republic (Union des Démocrates pour la République,
UDR), the party presented itself as the heir of Gaullism. This served as
the first step in his presidential campaign. He declared war on Giscard
immediately after becoming President of RPR (the Rassemblement pour la Republique).
In 1977, Chirac became the Mayor of Paris by defeating Michel d'Ornano,
a close friend of the president. Being a Mayor, he criticized the
national government and demonstrated his own capability to become the
President. In order to prove his ability, he did many things for the
development of country, such as improving the social services. As the
mayor of Paris, Chirac had overridden a ban on a 1987 Madonna concert.
The singer later donated high amount for AIDS research to the city, as a
gesture of thanks.
1981 Presidential Election
The nationalist campaign Jacques Chirac ran for the 1979 European
elections was a total failure. He attacked the pro-European policy of
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (VGE) and made a nationalist turn with the
December 1978 Call of Cochin. In 1981, for the first time, Chirac ran
for the post of President, against Giscard d'Estaing. He was eliminated
in the first round of the presidential elections, following which he
supported Giscard. However, throughout the election, he said that he
supported the incumbent president 'in a private capacity'. Finally,
Mitterrand won and was elected as the president. Following this, Chirac
appeared as the principal leader of the right-wing opposition.
Prime Minister For the Second Time
When the Socialist Party of President Mitterrand lost its majority
in the National Assembly, in the 1986 election, Chirac again became
Prime Minister, in a power-sharing agreement called cohabitation. During
its term, Chirac's cabinet sold a lot of public companies and abolished
the solidarity tax on wealth (ISF). In terms of foreign policy, the Prime
Minister called back to affairs Jacques Foccart. On the other hand, he
ordered a military intervention against the separatists in the Ouvea
cave, which resulted in several tragic deaths. Chirac also allegedly
refused any alliance with Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National.
1988 Presidential Elections
In 1988, Jacques Chirac again participated in president election
and was defeated by Mitterrand. In the first round, he obtained 20
percent of the vote, but lost the second by getting only 46 percent.
Thereafter, he resigned from the cabinet. For the first time, his
leadership over the RPR was challenged. A new generation of politicians,
who were known as the "renovation men", found Chirac and Giscard
responsible for the defeat in elections. Finally, Chirac announced that
he will not come back as Prime Minister and suggested the name of
Edouard Balladur, for the post. Balladur had promised that he would not
run for the presidency against Chirac in 1995. However, forgetting his
promise, with the support of a majority of right-wing politicians,
Balladur decided to participate in the presidential election.
President of France
Jacques Chirac made a third attempt to become President in 1995,
stressing on tax cuts and job programs, and won the election. It is
believed that Chirac's backing of the Madonna concert captured the
support of the youthful voters of country. As the President of France,
Chirac had a challenge to restore the confidence of public, increase
economic growth and decrease unemployment rate. In addition, he had also
promised to lower taxes, create more jobs, overhaul the education
system and create a volunteer army. During his first months in office,
his policies failed to ease the labor strikes on the domestic front.
Moreover, neo-liberal economic austerity measures proved to be
unaccepted.
Chirac faced major workers strikes by the end of 1995, which later
turned in a general strike.He was also criticized for Juppé's plan on
the reform of pensions. He also insisted upon the recommencement of
nuclear tests at Mururoa Atoll, in French Polynesia. However, on 1st
February 1996, he announced that France had ended its nuclear testing
"once and for all". In 1997, Chirac's power was weakened by the backlash
that emerged from his dissolving the parliament, for early legislative
elections, to support his conservative economic program. From 1997 to
2002, he was forced into a new period of cohabitation with Jospin as
prime minister.
Chirac was criticized for the scandals about the financing of RPR
by Paris municipality. He was also condemned for reducing the French
military budget as well as the expenditure on nuclear weapons. In 2002,
Chirac fought his fourth presidential campaign. This time, he faced
Jean-Marie Le Pen of National Front (FN) and won upon receiving 82%
votes. During his second term as the President, Chirac became
increasingly unpopular. However, his popularity as a President increased
after his opposition of George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq.
Around this time only, Chirac established a new party, called 'Union of
the Presidential Majority'.
With PRC President Hu Jintao, Chirac signed a trade agreement in
October 2004, as per which, Alstom would be given one billion euro in
contracts and promised of future investment in China. He retracted the
proposed First Employment Contract (CPE) because of the major student's
protests in spring 2006.In 2007, Chirac announced on the television that
he "would not choose to seek a third term as France's President".
During his two terms as the president, he increased the total budget of
Elysee Palace by 105%. The number of presidential cars was doubled.
Nowadays, there are 61 cars and seven scooters in the Palace's garage.
He also employed 145 extra employees.
Criticism as President
As president, Jacques Chirac was criticized for inaction, domestic
policies, foreign policy and for his political scandals involving fraud
and corruption. Chirac's popularity dropped more, when in 1995; France
restarted its nuclear weapons test program in the South Pacific. Over 20
countries officially protested against this program, resulting in
international boycotts of wine and other French products. Many people
were injured in Riots. These riots caused property damage, amounting to
millions of dollars. Chirac has also been criticized for illegal party
financing, when he was Mayor of Paris and for the favors he received
from Saddam Hussein.
After Presidency
After serving his second term as the President of France, Chirac
became a lifetime member of the Constitutional Council of France.
Immediately after leaving office, he founded 'Jacques Chirac Foundation
for Sustainable Development and Cultural Dialogue', operating in France
even now. Chirac had moved into a 180 square meters duplex house in
Paris, which was presented to him by the family of former Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafik Hariri. As a former President, he will be receiving
lifetime pension and personal security protection. Recent polls have
shown that since leaving office, Chirac is regarded as one of the most
popular politicians in France, liked by 70 per cent of people.
Assassination Attempt & Health Problems
During Bastille Day celebrations, on 14th July 2002,
Jacques Chirac survived an assassination attempt by a gunman, with a
rifle hidden in his guitar case. The gunman fired a shot at the
presidential motorcade, but was soon overpowered by bystanders. In early
September 2005, Chirac suffered from 'vascular incident' (as his
doctors described it), also known as a Transient ischemic attack. He
went through a surgery and returned to his duties soon after. Chirac's
office announced that he had undergone successful surgery to fit a
pacemaker on 11 April 2008. In January 2009, it was reported that Chirac
had been hospitalized after being attacked by his pet Maltese poodle,
which is suffering from depressants and being treated for the same.
Personal Life
Chirac's personal life has seen many ups and downs. Though his
marriage was fixed with his future wife, Bernadette Chodron de Courcel,
he fell in love with a girl who belonged to South Carolina. She used to
call him "honey child". Still, Chirac returned to Paris and married
Bernadette on March 16, 1956. They had two daughters: Laurence (born
March 4, 1958) and Claude (born January 14, 1962). His eldest daughter
Laurence is a physician and was suffering from depression and anorexia,
due to frustration caused by ill health. She tried to commit suicide, by
jumping out of a fourth floor window, in April 1990. However, she was
saved in time.
Chirac's younger daughter Claude also had a miserable life. In
1992, Claude's husband, Philippe Habert, was found dead, after having
overdose of sleeping pills. In 1979, Chirac and his wife adopted a
22-year-old woman, named Anh Dao. Two years later, Chirac got her
married to Hua Dong, a municipal employee. Claude has worked for a long
time as a public relations assistant and personal adviser, while
Laurence does not participate in the political activities of her father.
Anh's son (with French judoka Thierry Rey), Bernard Jacques, has been
named after his grandfather Jacques Chirac.
Honors
Titles
1995 - 2007: Monsieur le Président de la République française
1995 - 2007: His Excellency The Sovereign Co-Prince of Andorra |
Timeline: |
1932: Jacques Chirac was born
1956: Married Bernadette
1965-1977: Served as Member of the Sainte-Fereole (Correze) Municipal Council
1967: Served as National Assembly Deputy for Correze
1967-1968: Served as State Secretary for Social Affairs
1968: Served as Deputy for Correze
1968-1971: Served as Member of the Correze Conseil General for the canton of Meymac State Secretary for the Economy and Finance
1970-1979: Served as President of the Correze Conseil General
1971-1972: Served as Minister attached to the Prime Minister, with responsibility for relations with Parliament
1972-1973: Served as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development
1973-1974: Served as Deputy for Correze
1974: Served as Minister of the Interior
1974-1976: Served as the Prime Minister.
1974-1975: Served as General Secretary of the Union of Democrats for the Republic
1976-1986: Served as Deputy for Correze
1976-1994: Served as the President of Rally for the Republic.
1977-1995: Served as the Mayor of Paris
1979-1980: Served as a Member of the European Parliament
1979: Adopted Anh Dao
1986-1988: Served as the Prime Minister
1988-1995: Served as Deputy for Correze
1995-2007: Served as the President of France
2002: Survived an assassination attempt
2005: Suffered from 'vascular incident'
2008: Underwent surgery for fitting a pacemaker
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