Known For
Acting
Born
Oct 26, 1916
Died
Jan 08, 1996
Place of Birth
Jarnac, Charente, France
Credits
63 titles
François Mitterrand
Biography
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (26 October 1916 – 8 January 1996) was a French politician and statesman who served as President of France from 1981 to 1995, the longest holder of that position in the history of France. As a former Socialist Party First Secretary, he was the first left-wing politician to assume the presidency under the Fifth Republic. Due to family influences, Mitterrand started his political life on the Catholic nationalist right. He served under the Vichy regime during its earlier years. Subsequently, he joined the Resistance, moved to the left, and held ministerial office several times under the Fourth Republic. Mitterrand opposed Charles de Gaulle's establishment of the Fifth Republic. Although at times a politically isolated figure, he outmanoeuvred rivals to become the left's standard bearer in the 1965 and 1974 presidential elections, before being elected president in the 1981 presidential election. He was re-elected in 1988 and remained in office until 1995. Mitterrand invited the Communist Party into his first government, which was a controversial decision at the time. However, the Communists were boxed in as junior partners and, rather than taking advantage, saw their support eroded, eventually leaving the cabinet in 1984. Early in his first term, Mitterrand followed a radical left-wing economic agenda, including nationalisation of key firms and the introduction of the 39-hour work week. He likewise pushed a progressive agenda with reforms such as the abolition of the death penalty, and the end of a government monopoly in radio and television broadcasting. He was also a strong promoter of French culture and implemented a range of "Grands Projets". However, faced with economic tensions, he soon abandoned his nationalization programme, in favour of austerity and market liberalization policies. In 1985, he was faced with a major controversy after ordering the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace vessel docked in Auckland. Later in 1991, he became the first French President to appoint a female prime minister, Édith Cresson. During his presidency, Mitterrand was twice forced by the loss of a parliamentary majority into "cohabitation governments" with conservative cabinets led, respectively, by Jacques Chirac (1986–1988), and Édouard Balladur (1993–1995). Mitterrand’s foreign and defence policies built on those of his Gaullist predecessors, except in regard to their reluctance to support European integration, which he reversed. His partnership with German chancellor Helmut Kohl advanced European integration via the Maastricht Treaty, and he accepted German reunification. Less than eight months after leaving office, he died from the prostate cancer he had successfully concealed for most of his presidency. Beyond making the French Left electable, Mitterrand presided over the rise of the Socialist Party to dominance of the left, and the decline of the once-dominant Communist Party. ... Source: Article "François Mitterrand" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
Known For
Filmography
Chernobyl: Inside the Meltdown
Self (archive footage)
La banlieue, c’est le paradis
Self (archive footage)
The Revenge of Bernadette Chirac
Self (archive footage)
Unveiling Arafat
Self (archive footage)
North Korea: A Plan to Survive
Self (archive footage)
La Malédiction de la Grande Arche
Self (archive) - President of the French Republic (1981-1995)
Il était une fois Champs-Élysées
Self (archive footage)
TGV, génie français du rail
Self (archive footage)
Cent jours
Self
De Charles de Gaulle à Emmanuel Macron, les gardiens de l'empire
Self (archive footage)
At War for Algeria
Self - Politician (archive footage)
La TV des 70's : Quand Giscard était président
Self (archive footage)
François Mitterrand & Anne Pingeot: Pieces of a Love Story
Self (archive footage)
Mitterrand, président culturel
Self (archive footage)
Mitterrand et la télé
Self (archive footage)
10 mai 1981 : Changer la vie ?
Self (archive footage)
10 mai 1981, le jour du grand soir
Self (archive footage)
Congrès de Tours 1920: The Birth of the French Communist Party
Self (archive footage)
Entretien politique : Histoire et mode d'emploi
Self (archive footage)
Laboratory Greece
Self (archive footage)
1974, l'alternance Giscard
Self (archive footage)
Un peu, beaucoup, passionnément... Les Présidents et les Français
Self (archive footage)
Danielle Mitterrand, une certaine idée de la France
Self (archive footage)
1958: Those Who Said No
Self (archive footage)
Ziva Postec: The Editor Behind the Film Shoah
Self (archive footage)
Gare du Nord : La Plus Grande Gare d'Europe
Self (archive footage)
Roland Dumas, le mauvais garçon de la république
self
The Incredible Mr. Piccoli
Self - Politician (archive footage)
François Mitterrand : Bâtisseur de mystères
Self (archive footage)
De Gaulle, the Last King of France
Self (archive footage)
Mr & Mme Adelman
Self (archive footage)
Stupor Mundi: Livre 2, Les Hommes qui mangèrent la montagne
Self (archive footage)
Mitterrand, the impossible legacy
Self (archive footage)
François Mitterrand, la maladie au secret
Self (archive footage)
Les vendredis d'Apostrophes
Self (archive footage)
Laissez-faire
Self (archive footage)
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
Self - Politician (archive footage)
Un mort à L'Elysée: François de Grossouvre
Self (archive footage)
De Gaulle, le géant aux pieds d'argile
Self (archive footage)
Owners of Portugal
Self - President of France (archive footage)
Fashion !
Self (archive footage)
François Mitterrand, à bout portant : 1993-1996
Self (archive footage)
François Mitterrand et la guerre d'Algérie
Self (archive footage)
L'Amour Fou
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Rendez-vous avec François Mitterrand
Self (archive footage)
1974, une partie de campagne
Self
Who Is Bernard Tapie?
Self
François Mitterrand : Conversations avec un Président
Self
François Mitterrand : le roman du pouvoir
Self (archive footage)
Vivement dimanche
Self (archive footage)