Office:	President of France
Term in office:	From May 19, 1974 to May 10, 1981
Preceded by:	Georges Pompidou or Alain Poher (interim)
Succeeded by:	François Mitterrand
Date of birth:	February 2, 1926
Place of birth:	Koblenz, Germany
First Lady:	Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes
Party:	Union for French Democracy

Valéry Marie René Georges Giscard d'Estaing (born February 2, 1926 in Koblenz, Germany) is a French politician who was President of the Republic from 1974 until 1981. Official EU portrait of Valery Giscard DEstaing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The President of France, known officially as the President of the Republic (Président de la République in French), is Frances elected Head of State. ... May 19 is the 139th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (140th in leap years). ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... May 10 is the 130th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (131st in leap years). ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (July 5, 1911–April 2, 1974) was President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. ... Alain Poher (April 17, 1909 - December 9, 1996) was a French politician. ... François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (October 26, 1916 – January 8, 1996;  pronunciation) was a French politician and President of France from May 1981, re-elected in 1988, until 1995. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Koblenz (also Coblenz and the French Coblence) is after Mainz and Ludwigshafen am Rhein the third largest city in Rhineland-Palatinate (german Rheinland-Pfalz), Germany. ... The Union for French Democracy, also known by its French acronym UDF (Union pour la Démocratie Française), is a French center-right political party. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Koblenz (also Coblenz and the French Coblence) is after Mainz and Ludwigshafen am Rhein the third largest city in Rhineland-Palatinate (german Rheinland-Pfalz), Germany. ... The President of France, known officially as the President of the Republic (Président de la République in French), is Frances elected Head of State. ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Today he is involved with the European Union and one of the fiercest proponents of the United States of Europe. He is also very much against Turkey joining the European Union, saying to French Newspaper Le Monde, "In my opinion, it would be the end of Europe." The United States of Europe is a name often given to one version of the possible future unification of Europe as a national and sovereign federation of states similar in formation to the United States of America. ... Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper with a circulation in 2002 of 389,200. ...

Biography

Giscard is the son of Edmond Giscard d'Estaing (1892-1982), a French civil servant, and his wife, May Bardoux, who was a daughter of French senator and academicien Jacques Bardoux and a great-granddaughter of French minister of state education Agénor Bardoux. 1892 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Agénor Bardoux (15 January 1829–23 November 1897) was a French statesman and republican. ...

He studied at Lycée Blaise-Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand, Ecole Gerson and Lycées Janson-de-Sailly and Louis-le-Grand in Paris. He graduated from the École Polytechnique and the École nationale d'administration (1949-1951). Japanese high school students in uniform Secondary education is a period of education which follows directly after primary education (such as intermediate school or elementary school), and which may be followed by tertiary or post-secondary education. ... Clermont-Ferrand is a city of France, in the Auvergne region, with a population of approximately 140,000. ... The Lycée Louis-le-Grand, in Paris is one of the most famous lycées providing classes for preparing for grandes écoles. ... The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... The cadets of Polytechnique rushed to the defense of Paris against the foreign armies in 1814. ... The École nationale dadministration (generally known as ENA) is the school where many of France senior officials are instructed. ... 1949 is a common year starting on Saturday. ... 1951 was a common year starting on Monday; see its calendar. ...

Elected in Parliament, as an "independent" (i.e. conservative) in 1951, he was secretary of state for Finances from 1959 to 1962, then minister of Finances and Economic Affairs from 1962 to 1966 under prime minister Georges Pompidou, then minister of Economy and Finances under prime ministers Pierre Messmer and Jacques Chaban-Delmas from 1969 to 1974. 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry (Ministre de lEconomie, des Finances et de lIndustrie), or Minister of Finances for short, is arguably the third most important official in the French government, after the President and Prime Minister. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (July 5, 1911–April 2, 1974) was President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. ... On May 29, 1974 Jacques Chirac (left) replaced Pierre Messmer (right) as prime minister on the steps of the Hôtel Matignon. ... Chaban-Delmass Ministry, 22 June 1969–6 July 1972 Jacques Chaban-Delmas - Prime Minister Maurice Schumann - Minister of Foreign Affairs Michel Debré - Minister of National Defense Raymond Marcellin - Minister of the Interior Valéry Giscard dEstaing - Minister of Economy and Finance François-Xavier Ortoli - Minister of Industrial and Scientific... 1969 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ...

Presidency

Head of pro-gaullist conservatives from 1962 to 1974, he created in 1978 the UDF (Union for French Democracy) in which christian-democrats and conservatives merged. 1978 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... The Union for French Democracy, also known by its French acronym UDF (Union pour la Démocratie Française), is a French center-right political party. ...

Giscard was defeated in the French Presidential Election of 1981. From 1986 until 2004 he was the president of the regional council of Auvergne. This article needs cleanup. ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... In France, the president of the regional council is the elected official who heads the conseil régional of a région, a state-level territory. ... This article is about the French administrative région of Auvergne. ...

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was a friend and loyal to the former Central African Empire's emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa , he supplied the regime with much financial and military backing. The Central African Empire was the name of the Central African Republic when president Jean-Bédel Bokassa declared himself Emperor Bokassa in 1977. ... Jean-Bédel Bokassa (February 22, 1921–November 3, 1996) was the military ruler and emperor of the Central African Republic from January 1, 1966 until his overthrow on September 20, 1979. ...

Later career

Following from his defeat in the regional elections of March 2004, he decided to leave partisan politics and to take his seat in the Constitutional Council as a former president of the Republic. From 2002-2003 he served as President of the Convention on the Future of Europe. Regional elections were held in France on March 21 and March 28, 2004. ... The Constitutional Council was established by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic on 4 October 1958. ... 2002 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The European Convention, sometimes known as the Convention on the Future of Europe, was a body established by the European Council in December 2001 as a result of the Laeken Declaration. ...

On 29 October 2004, the European heads of state, gathered in Rome, approved and signed the European Constitution based on a draft strongly influenced by Giscard's work at the Convention. October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 63 days remaining. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations by or about: European Union The European Union On-Line Official EU website, europa. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1... The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, commonly referred to as the European Constitution, is an international treaty intended to create a constitution for the European Union. ...

In 2003, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing was admitted to the Académie française, amid controversy; critics pointed out that Giscard had written only a single novel, Le Passage, of dubious quality. 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Académie française, or French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. ...

He is currently serving as:

• President of the CEMR (Council of European Municipalities and Regions)
• A member of the Académie française (French Academy)
• As a de jure member of the French Constitutional Council

Personal

His name is often shortened to "Giscard" or even "VGE" by the French media. A less flattering nickname is l'Ex (the Ex), as he is, as of 2005, the only surviving former president of France and he is generally considered to be bitter about his failure to be re-elected. Compared to other European nations, the French are not avid newspaper readers, citing only 164 adults out of every 1000 as newspaper readers. ... EX may stand for: Example Exercise Exeter, England Exponent the IATA code for Air Santo Domingo TV Asahi (JOEX-TV), a Japanese TV station in Tokyo See also ex This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On December 17, 1952, Giscard married Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes, a daughter of the Marquis de Brantes and his wife, Princess Aymone de Faucigny-Lucinge. They have four children: Valerie-Anne, Henri, Louis and Jacinte. December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1952 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 2003 he received the Charlemagne Award of the German city of Aachen. 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Bill Clinton received the Karlspreis in 2000. ... Map of Germany showing Aachen Aachen (French Aix-la-Chapelle) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands, 65 km to the west of Cologne, and the westernmost city in Germany, at 50°46′ N 6°6′ E. Population: 256,605 (2003). ...

He is an uncle of French artist Aurore Giscard d'Estaing, who is married to the American actor Timothy Hutton. Aurore Giscard dEstaing is a childrens book artist, mother of two and wife of American actor, Timothy Hutton. ... Timothy Hutton (born 16 August 1960) is an American actor. ...

The Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry (Ministre de lEconomie, des Finances et de lIndustrie), or Minister of Finances for short, is one of the most prominent positions in the cabinet of France after the Prime Minister. ... Michel Debré, French politician Michel Debré (January 15, 1912 - August 2, 1996) was a French politician. ... Liberal Democracy (Démocratie Libérale, DL) was a French political party that advocated laissez-faire economics and whose leader was Alain Madelin. ... François-Xavier Ortoli (born February 16, 1925) is a French politician and businessman. ... The Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry (Ministre de lEconomie, des Finances et de lIndustrie), or Minister of Finances for short, is one of the most prominent positions in the cabinet of France after the Prime Minister. ... Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (July 5, 1911–April 2, 1974) was President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. ... The President of France, known officially as the President of the Republic (Président de la République in French), is Frances elected Head of State. ... François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (October 26, 1916 – January 8, 1996;  pronunciation) was a French politician and President of France from May 1981, re-elected in 1988, until 1995. ... Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (July 5, 1911–April 2, 1974) was President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. ... Joan Martí Alanis (born 29 November 1928) is a former Bishop of Urgell and hence former co-Prince of Andorra. ... This is a list of Co-Princes of Andorra. ... Joan Martí Alanis (born 29 November 1928) is a former Bishop of Urgell and hence former co-Prince of Andorra. ... François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand (October 26, 1916 – January 8, 1996;  pronunciation) was a French politician and President of France from May 1981, re-elected in 1988, until 1995. ... Joan Martí Alanis (born 29 November 1928) is a former Bishop of Urgell and hence former co-Prince of Andorra. ... The Union for French Democracy, also known by its French acronym UDF (Union pour la Démocratie Française), is a French center-right political party. ...

Léopold Sédar Senghor ( October 9, 1906– December 20, 2001) was an Seneglese poet and politician who served as the first president of Senegal ( 1960– 1980). ... This is a list of members of the Académie française (French Academy) by seat number. ... The Académie française, or French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. ...

External links

• Curriculum Vitae (CEMR website) (http://www.ccre.org/document/vge_an.html)
• Bio on the French National Assembly website (http://www.assemblee-nat.fr/tribun/fiches_id/1494.asp#P13_61) (in French)
• First and second round results of the French presidential electios of 1974 (http://www.alyon.org/generale/histoire/france/election_presidentielle_1965.html) (in French)