Valery Giscard d'Estaing

Giscard d'Estaing took office after defeating Francois Mitterrand to become President of France. A strong supporter of the European Economic Community, he played a crucial role in several international initiatives including the creation of the European Council, the European Monetary System, the Disarmament Institute and the North-South Conference.

His tenure as President was marked by dramatic changes in social issues such as divorce, contraception and abortion and his attempts to modernize his country and his office. He launched such far-reaching infrastructure projects as the high-speed TGV train and directing his country towards relying on nuclear power as France's main energy source.

Despite his success at modernizing and reforming France, Giscard d’Estaing was defeated by Francois Mitterrand in the subsequent 1981 presidential elections. He then returned to the National Assembly and became one of the leaders of the centre-right group, Union for French Democracy.

In 2004, Giscard d’Estaing decided to leave partisan politics and to take his seat in the Constitutional Council as a former president of the Republic. A firm supporter of a united Europe, Giscard d'Estaing has been heavily involved with the European Union. He notably chaired the committee that drafted the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. As former President, he has also recently served on the Constitutional Council. Currently, he serves as President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions, as a member of the Academie française, and a de jure member of the French Constitutional Councile.

Giscard d'Estaing began his political career as a member of the National Assembly and served as Secretary of State for Finance. His other posts include Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, President of the Commission of Foreign Affairs and a member of the European Parliament.

The son of a French civil servant serving with the occupying forces after the First World War, Giscard d’Estaing was born in Germany and educated in Paris. As a youth, he joined the French Resistance during the Second World War, and was awarded the Croix de Guerre.