Jacques René Chirac

Statesman, President of France. He served as the President of France from May 17, 1995 to May 16, 2007. He also served as the Prime Minister of France on two occasions; May 27, 1974 to August 26, 1976 and March 20, 1986 to May 10, 1988. After completing his degree work at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, he studied also at both Harvard University and the École nationale d'administration. After completing his education, he began his career as high-level civil servant and then entered the political field in 1962 as the head of the personal staff of Prime Minister Georges Pompidou. In 1967, he won a seat in the French National Assembly and later went on to serve as a cabinet minister under both Presidents Charles De Gaulle and Georges Pompidou. After the death of Pompidou in 1974 and the election of Valery Giscard d'Estaing to the presidency that same year, he became the prime minister. He went on to serve in this post until resigning in 1976. In 1977, he was elected to the post of Mayor of Paris, France, the capital, and served in this position until 1995. During his tenure as mayor, he also served his second term as prime minister from 1986 to 1988. In 1995, he decided to run for the presidency of France and was successful in the second round of voting, defeating Socialist Lionel Jospin. He served two terms as president before retiring after his second term was up in 2005. He continued to be involved in the political scene after retirement and created his own Foundation Chirac, that advocated in various areas.