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Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Valéry Giscard d’Estaing 1978(3).jpg
20th President of France
In office
27 May 1974 – 21 May 1981
Prime Minister Jacques Chirac
Raymond Barre
Preceded by Alain Poher (Acting)
Succeeded by François Mitterrand
Co-Prince of Andorra
In office
27 May 1974 – 21 May 1981
Preceded by Alain Poher (Acting)
Succeeded by François Mitterrand
President of Union for French Democracy
In office
30 June 1988 – 31 March 1996
Preceded by Jean Lecanuet
Succeeded by François Léotard
President of the Regional Council of Auvergne
In office
21 March 1986 – 2 April 2004
Preceded by Maurice Pourchon
Succeeded by Pierre-Joël Bonté
Minister of Finance
In office
20 June 1969 – 27 May 1974
Prime Minister Jacques Chaban-Delmas
Pierre Messmer
Preceded by François-Xavier Ortoli
Succeeded by Jean-Pierre Fourcade
In office
18 January 1962 – 8 January 1966
Prime Minister Michel Debré
Georges Pompidou
Preceded by Wilfrid Baumgartner
Succeeded by Michel Debré
Mayor of Chamalières
In office
15 September 1967 – 19 May 1974
Preceded by Pierre Chatrousse
Succeeded by Claude Wolff
Personal details
Born Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing
(1926-02-02) 2 February 1926 (age 90)
Koblenz, Germany
Political party National Centre of Independents and Peasants (Before 1962)
Independent Republicans (1962–1977)
Republican Party (1977–1995)
Popular Party for French Democracy (1995–1997)
Liberal Democracy (1997–1998)
Union for French Democracy (1998–2007)
Democratic Movement (2007–present)
Other political
affiliations
Union for French Democracy (1978–1998)
Spouse(s) Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes (m. 1952)
Children Valérie-Anne
Henri
Louis
Jacinte
Alma mater École Polytechnique
École nationale d'administration
Religion Roman Catholicism
Signature

Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing (English pronunciation: /ˈvæləri ˈmɛəri ˈrɛneɪ ˈdʒɔərdʒ ˈdʒɪskɑrd ˈdɛsteɪn/; French pronunciation: ​[valeʁi ʒiskaʁ destɛ̃]; born 2 February 1926), also known as Giscard or VGE, is a French centrist politician who served as President of the French Republic from 1974 until 1981 and who is now a member of the Constitutional Council of France.

His tenure as President was marked by a more liberal attitude on social issues – such as divorce, homosexuality, contraception, and abortion – and attempts to modernize the country and the office of the presidency, notably launching such far-reaching infrastructure projects as the high-speed TGV train and the turn towards reliance on nuclear power as France's main energy source.

However, his popularity suffered from the economic downturn that followed the 1973 energy crisis, marking the end of the "thirty glorious years" after World War II. Giscard faced political opposition from both sides of the spectrum: from the newly unified left of François Mitterrand, and from a rising Jacques Chirac, who resurrected gaullism on a right-wing opposition line. In 1981, despite a high approval rating, he missed out on re-election in a runoff against Mitterrand.


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