Poniatowski, Michel, Prince

(1922-2002)

   political figure

   Born in Paris, Prince Michel Poniatowski was descended from Polish royalty (one of his ancestors was a field marshal under napoléon i). He studied in Paris and at Cambridge and, after the fall of France to Nazi Germany in 1940, he joined the Free French forces in Algiers, where he won the croix de guerre. He sided more with General henri giraud than with General charles de gaulle, and after the war served as a deputy for Puy-de-Dôme (1959), then as chief of staff to valéry Giscard d'es-taing and later as finance minister (1962-66, 1969-74). In 1978, with Giscard d'Estaing, he formed the UNION POUR LA DÉMOCRATIE FRANÇAISE, a loose federation of right and center-right non-Gaullist groups. In 1998, Poniatowski resigned over the UDF's refusal to ally itself with the National Front of jean-marie le pen. Poniatowski planned Giscard d'Estaing's successful campaign to win the presidency after the death of georges pompidou (1974) and became minister of the interior (1974-77). In that capacity, he took some liberal measures, such as abolishing fingerprints on identity cards and relaxing controls on the media. He resigned after a scandal brought on by the death of a rightist political figure.