Valéry Giscard d'Estaing facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
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Giscard d'Estaing in 1975
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| 20th President of France Co-Prince of Andorra |
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| In office 27 May 1974 – 21 May 1981 |
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| Prime Minister | Jacques Chirac Raymond Barre |
| Preceded by | Alain Poher (Acting) |
| Succeeded by | François Mitterrand |
| President of the Regional Council of Auvergne | |
| In office 21 March 1986 – 2 April 2004 |
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| Preceded by | Maurice Pourchon |
| Succeeded by | Pierre-Joël Bonté |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 29 June 1969 – 27 May 1974 |
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| Prime Minister | Jacques Chaban-Delmas Pierre Messmer |
| Preceded by | François-Xavier Ortoli |
| Succeeded by | Jean-Pierre Fourcade |
| In office 19 January 1962 – 8 January 1966 |
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| Prime Minister | Michel Debré Georges Pompidou |
| Preceded by | Wilfrid Baumgartner |
| Succeeded by | Michel Debré |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing
2 February 1926 Koblenz, Germany |
| Died | 2 December 2020 (aged 94) Authon, France |
| Political party | National Centre of Independents and Peasants (Before 1962) Independent Republicans (1962–1977) Republican Party (1977–1995) Popular Party for French Democracy (1995–1997) Liberal Democracy (1997–1998) Union for French Democracy (1998–2002) |
| Other political affiliations |
Union for French Democracy (1978–1998) |
| Spouse(s) | Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes (1952–present) |
| Children | Valérie-Anne Henri Louis Jacinte |
| Alma mater | Polytechnic School National School of the Administration, Strasbourg |
| Signature |  |
Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing (2 February 1926 – 2 December 2020) was a French centrist politician. He was a member of the Constitutional Council of France. He served as President of France from 1974 until 1981. He also was Minister of Finance under prime ministers Jacques Chaban-Delmas and Pierre Messmer.
At the time of his death, Giscard was the longest-lived French President in history.
Presidency
Giscard won the presidential election of 1974 with 50.8% of the vote against François Mitterrand of the Socialist Party. His presidency was known for its liberal stand on social issues—such as divorce, contraception and abortion—and he also helped modernize the country and the office of the presidency.
He supported projects as the TGV and the turn towards reliance on nuclear power as France's main energy source. However, his popularity suffered from the economic downturn that followed the 1973 energy crisis, marking the end of the "thirty glorious years" after World War II.
Giscard d'Estaing had political opposition from both sides of the spectrum: from the newly unified left of François Mitterrand and a rising Jacques Chirac. In 1981, despite a high approval rating, he lost his reelection in a runoff against Mitterrand, with 48.2% of the vote.
Post-presidency
As a former President of France, Giscard d'Estaing was a member of the Constitutional Council. He also was President of the Regional Council of Auvergne from 1986 to 2004.
Supporting the European Union, he was in charge of the Convention on the Future of Europe that drafted the not successful Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe. In 2003, he was elected to the Académie française.
Personal life
Giscard d'Estaing was born in Koblenz, Germany. He studied at École Polytechnique and at École nationale d'administration.
Between 1944 to 1945, he was in the French Army during World War II, especially during the Liberation of Paris.
In 1952, he married Anne-Aymone Giscard d'Estaing. They had four children.
Giscard once made up a story about him having an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales.
Death
On 14 September 2020, Giscard was hospitalized under intensive care for breathing problems in Paris.
Giscard died on 2 December 2020 from problems caused by COVID-19 at his home in Authon, Loir-et-Cher. He was 94 years old.
Images for kids
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Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in the 1940s
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Valéry Giscard d'Estaing meeting with President of West Germany Walter Scheel in 1975
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Valéry Giscard d'Estaing with Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Shah of Iran in 1975
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Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1979 with Helmut Schmidt, Jimmy Carter and James Callaghan in Guadeloupe Conference.
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Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 1986
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Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in 2014
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Giscard d'Estaing in 2015
