Pierre Bérégovoy | |
---|---|
110th Prime Minister of France | |
In office 2 April 1992 – 29 March 1993 |
|
President | François Mitterrand |
Preceded by | Édith Cresson |
Succeeded by | Édouard Balladur |
Personal details | |
Born |
Pierre Eugène Bérégovoy 23 December 1925 Déville-lès-Rouen |
Died | 1 May 1993 Nevers |
(aged 67)
Political party | Socialist |
Occupation |
Metallurgist Civil Servant |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Pierre Eugène Bérégovoy (French pronunciation: [pjɛʁ beʁeɡɔvwa]; 23 December 1925 – 1 May 1993) was a French Socialist politician. He served as 162nd Prime Minister under François Mitterrand from 1992 to 1993.
Pierre Bérégovoy was born in Déville-lès-Rouen, Seine-Maritime to a Ukrainian father (original family name Береговий in Ukrainian or Береговой in Russian) who had left the Russian Empire after the Russian Civil War, and a French mother.
He started his professional life at the age of 16 as a qualified metal worker. He got involved in politics following his activities in the French Resistance – while working at SNCF during World War II. A member of the SFIO Socialist Party and of the trade unions confederation Workers Force, he joined the staff of the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Christian Pineau, as adviser for relations with the trade unons in 1949. One year later, he became technical agent in Gaz de France.
In 1959, he left the SFIO and participated in the foundation of the dissident Unified Socialist Party (PSU). He became an adviser of Pierre Mendès-France. In 1967, with Alain Savary, he created the pro-Mendès-France Union of clubs for the renewal of the left. This group joined the renewed Socialist Party (PS) in 1969. He joined the executive group of the party behind François Mitterrand, and participated notably in the negotiations of the Common Program of the Union of the Left.