Chirac, Jacques

(b. 1932- )

   statesman, president

   Born in Paris, Jacques Chirac studied at the Institut d'études politiques (1956) and, after military service, at the École nationale d'administration (1959). In 1962, he joined the staff of georges pompidou and, in 1972, became minister of agriculture and rural development. In 1974, when valéry Giscard d'es-taing became president, Chirac was appointed prime minister. He also became secretary-general of the conservative uDR (union des Démocrates pour la République), but after continuing differences with Giscard, he resigned as premier in 1976. He then became president of the uDR, which he reorganized into the neo-Gaullist party, RPR (Rassemblement pour la République). In 1977, he was elected mayor of Paris, a position he held until 1995. Chirac lost his first run for president of France to François Mitterrand in 1981, but in 1986 he was appointed prime minister under the policy of agreement known as "cohabitation." In 1998, he lost again to Mitterrand in the presidential election, but would win that office in the 1995 vote by 53 percent. As president, Chirac focused on domestic issues, such as unemployment, taxes, reform of the educational system, and development of a volunteer army. In foreign policy, he continued Mitterrand's move toward European integration and a single currency, and stood for an independent and leading role for France and Europe in international affairs.