François Mitterrand: biography, career, foreign and domestic policy

François Mitterrand is the 21st President of France and at the same time the 4th President of the Fifth Republic, founded by Charles de Gaulle. His leadership of the country turned out to be the longest in the history of the Fifth Republic and at the same time the most controversial, when the political pendulum changed from socialism to a liberal way of life.

Birth and years of study

At a time when Europe was still burning in the First World War, in 1916, on October 26, the future French president François Mitterrand was born in the town of Jarnack. According to him, he was born into a "very Catholic Catholic" family. His father was J. Mitterrand, and his mother was J. Lorran. In his native Jarnaka he was up to the age of 9, he received his primary education here, and then went to the St. Paul, a boarding school in Angoumel. This place was a private Catholic privileged educational institution, after which he became a bachelor of philosophical sciences.

At the age of 18, Francois Mitterrand went to Paris to continue his studies. There he entered the Sorbonne, where he studied science until 1938. After completing, he received three more diplomas: the end of the philological and law faculties of the Sorbonne University, as well as the School of Political Science. This completes the training, and adult life begins, but even then the gift of diplomacy and foresight could be seen in it, the future president Mitterand Francois was already noticeable. His policy was not something that attracted him, he lived it and enthusiastically welcomed the coming to power of the Popular Front in 1936.

Service in the army and World War II in the life of François Mitterrand

In the spring of 1938 Francois was drafted into the army. He began his service in the 23rd Colonial Infantry Regiment. After the Germans unleashed World War II, he was moved to the Sedan area. In June 1940, with the capture of Paris by the Wehrmacht, Francois Mitterrand was seriously wounded by splinters of mines. Miraculously it was taken out from the already defeated Paris, but soon Francois Mitterrand got into German captivity. Three attempts were made to escape, and in the winter of 1941 he finally managed to get free and immediately join the Resistance movement. There he received the pseudonym "Captain Morlan".

In 1942-1943, François was an active figure in the affairs of prisoners of war. He even founded an organization and an underground patriotic union. At the end of 1943, there was the first meeting with Charles de Gaulle. Perhaps you somehow establish a correspondence between them. Francois Mitterrand, however, unlike de Gaulle, was a young socialist politician who from the first meeting went with him to a conflict and open disagreement with his views. In 1944 he was an activist of the liberation of France and a participant in the Paris Uprising.

Political activity in the post-war years

After the collapse of fascist Germany, François Mitterand began active intervention in the state apparatus of the French Republic. He occupied more than ten ministerial posts, and also became the leader of the UDDS party. Conducted an anti-fascist course and publicly condemned the policy and excessive power of Charles de Gaulle, and even wrote a book about him.

The fight for the presidency

The turning point in his political career was 1965. During this period his biography changed. Francois Mitterrand first took part in the presidential elections. However, in the second round he was defeated, and de Gaulle was re-elected for a second term. Continued to lead the opposition activities at the head of the established federation of leftist forces. In 1974, fate reminded him of 1965 - he lost to Valerie Giscard d'Estaing in the second round. His time had not yet come.

During this entire period, he did not waste time in vain: he worked on himself, sought other methods and created new political alliances, actively conducted agitation both hidden and open. In general, his already advanced age was not a hindrance. After all, at that time (1974) he was already about 60 years old, and he was just beginning to enjoy political victories, but he was not particularly upset by the defeats. Therefore, for the subsequent elections in 1981 he began to prepare more than ever.

4th President of the Fifth Republic

In 1981, in January, at the congress of the FCS (French Socialist Party), was unanimously nominated as a candidate for presidency in the new elections. It was his finest hour. The fourth president of the Fifth Republic was François Mitterrand, whose domestic and foreign policies even received a special name - "Mitterraneism." The difference between Francois's activities from other presidents was that, being an ardent anti-communist, he relied heavily on them in his policy and more than once made his allies.

Domestic policy

In the state he received, Francois Mitterrand began to carry out social reforms. His government was working to reduce the working week, reduce the retirement age, decentralize power. Under Mitterrand, local authorities were empowered, and thus "untied hands" in solving many issues. This is the very question that haunted him during the reign of de Gaulle, and Mitterrand often criticized him for excessive power in the hands of one man. In addition, the death penalty was abolished. France in this issue was the last of all Western European countries. However, since 1984 the government has been forced to move to "austerity measures" and to curtail social reforms.

Since 1986, the period of the so-called. "Coexistence" when the left-wing president acted alongside the right-wing government leader, which turned out to be Jacques Chirac.

In 1988, Francois Mitterand was re-elected for a second term. His domestic policy remained unchanged: he supported the Communists, went to negotiations with right-wing forces and at the same time did not ignore the left, which characterizes him as an able and far-sighted politician with rich experience in this field of activity.

Foreign Policy of François Mitterrand

Almost all the years of the presidency, he was forced to share power with the right-wing prime ministers. Mitterrand's foreign policy also represented the idea of maneuvering between the left and right forces. He especially advocated the strengthening of relations with the United States, Germany, and then with the united Germany and, of course, with Russia. Francois Mitterrand was one of the first who supported Boris Yeltsin during the State Emergency Committee. But even before the events of August 1991, he actively interacted with the Soviet Union. In addition, Francois advocated greater cooperation with African states.

In 1981, Francois Mitterrand won a major victory - he became president of France, but the same year gave him another "surprise" - he discovered an oncology. All the years of his reign he went along with prostate cancer. Mitterrand fought to the last. In 1995, his second term of office of the presidency ended, and on Christmas he and his family had time to visit Egypt. But already on January 8, 1996, at the 79th year of life, the 21st French President Francois Mitterrand departed for another world. Interest in politics and love for the Motherland, he carried through all his not a short life.