Danielle Mitterrand
| Danielle Mitterrand | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Danielle Émilienne Isabelle Gouze 29 October 1924 Verdun, Meuse |
| Died | 22 November 2011 (aged 87) Paris, Île-de-France |
| Spouse(s) | François Mitterrand (m. 1944; d. 1996) |
| Children | Pascal Mitterrand (1945–1945) Jean-Christophe Mitterrand (b. 1946) Gilbert Mitterrand (b. 1949) |
Danielle Mitterrand (born Danielle Émilienne Isabelle Gouze; 29 October 1924 – 22 November 2011) was the wife of French President François Mitterrand, and president of the foundation .
When she was seventeen years old, her family (her parents were teachers) aided the French Resistance and helped lodge men of the Maquis (French Resistance), and she became a liaison officer in the Resistance. She met François Mitterrand there, and married him three months after the Liberation, on 28 October 1944.
She created the France-Libertés Foundation in 1986, when she was First Lady, with the fusion of three smaller associations which had been established in 1981. In 1996 Madame Mitterrand was one of the winners of the North–South Prize.
Danielle Mitterrand had three sons: Pascal (who died in childhood), Jean-Christophe and Gilbert Mitterrand.
Mrs. Mitterrand was a longtime supporter of Cuba and its Marxist–Leninist government. However, during Fidel Castro's 1995 visit to France, she also helped secure the release of imprisoned Cuban dissident Yndamiro Restano Díaz, who was reportedly freed at her request. She was also a supporter of the ANC and the anti apartheid movement.
She also supported the Sandinistas when her late husband gave them military aid in their war against US-backed forces in Nicaragua. She was very critical with respect to Turkey, opposing its accession to the European Union and supportive of the Kurdistan independence movement. She voiced her views in favour of Sahrawi separatists,Subcomandante Marcos, and the Tibetan people, among others.
...
Wikipedia