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Jacques Chirac was a French politician who rose from civil servant to president of the country. Occupying leadership positions in the government, he was distinguished by his principled views and strong position in relation to many world problems.

As the leader of one of the leading powers, Chirac advocated socially responsible economic policies and sharply criticized the attack by American troops on Iraq. In the last years of his reign, the head of state's ratings declined, and he became one of the least popular presidents in modern French history.

Childhood[]

Jacques Rene Chirac was born on November 29, 1932 into a prosperous Parisian family of aviation company executive Abel François Chirac and housewife Marie-Louise Valette. The future president of France received his primary education at the capital's private school "Cours Hattemer", and then continued his studies at the Carnot and Louis-Le-Grand lyceums. After receiving a bachelor's degree, young Jacques served as a sailor on coal transport for 3 months.

In his youth, Chirac played rugby for the youth team, and during his university years he defended the colors of the student sports club.

In the early 1950s, Jacques joined the French Communist Party and graduated from the Paris Institute of Political Studies. After a vacation at Harvard, the ambitious young man entered the National School of Administration and received a diploma as a civil servant.

Having gone through all possible levels of training, Chirac enlisted in the French army. Having become a reserve officer, he volunteered to go to war in Algeria. After being wounded, Jacques was demobilized, and he settled into administrative work in the Audit Chamber of Paris.

Politics[]

In 1962, when French Prime Minister Georges Pompidou appointed the young activist as chief of his personal staff. In this position, Jacques established himself as a man capable of achieving a goal at any cost, and received the nickname Bulldozer.

This quality helped Chirac quickly get into the French government to a position in the Ministry of Social Affairs and enter the circle of General Charles de Gaulle. At this time, the country was rocked by mass riots organized by workers and students, which led to the resignation of the government and the change of president. The current situation directly affected Jacques' activities. On duty, he took part in negotiations with demonstrators and played a central role in concluding a truce.

When Pompidou became head of the French government, his protégé was given the post of Minister of Agriculture and quickly earned a reputation as a defender of the interests of farmers and an opponent of the agricultural policies of the United States, West Germany and the European Commission.

In 1974, Chirac replaced Raymond Marcellin in a leadership position in the French Interior Department and in March began preparing for the 1976 presidential elections, in which he supported Giscard d'Estaing.

Jacques made the right choice in choosing his favorite: the new head of state appointed him head of the Cabinet of Ministers in 1974. The 41-year-old politician tried to reconcile the warring parties in parliament, and also promoted a number of reforms to improve the economic and social situation in the country. The lack of power led to the fact that in 1976 Jacques left the post of prime minister and began to acquire influential supporters necessary to fight for the presidency.

In 1977, Chirac took the newly opened post of mayor of Paris and continued to create his own political image, working for the benefit of the city and the country. Having spent 18 years at the Hôtel de Ville, Jacques carried out many programs aimed at improving the lives of the citizens of the capital.

In the 1981 presidential elections, Chirac ran against the country's incumbent leader. Having failed to gain votes, the mayor of Paris dropped out of the race and became the head of a group of right-wing opposition parties under the reign of the elected François Mitterrand. When Chirac's coalition gained a majority in parliament, the right-wing leader again became prime minister of France and played a leading role in the country's internal affairs.

After carrying out a series of unpopular programs, Jacques lost the 1988 elections, left the government and remained in the political shadow.

The 1995 presidential campaign finally brought Chirac the coveted post of French leader. On the domestic front, the new president promoted tax cuts and programs to help the unemployed, which resulted in budget deficits and demonstrations. After the pension reform carried out by Prime Minister Alain Juppe, a global strike began in the country, leading to the dismissal of the head of government.

Chirac's foreign policy during his first presidential period was remembered for the signing of an agreement to stop nuclear testing and the refusal to liquidate military bases on the African continent. In addition, the head of France admitted responsibility for crimes against the Jewish nation committed during the Second World War.

The 1997 parliamentary elections shook the president's position. Following the constitutional agreement, he gave the right to manage the country's economy to the legislature, and he himself took up foreign policy and strategic issues: he cut the military budget and unsuccessfully tried to get closer to NATO.

In 2002, Chirac was re-elected president of France, rejecting the candidacies of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin and far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen. During this period, Jacques reorganized the country's internal politics and created a party called the Union for a Popular Movement.

Internationally, the French head of state has teamed up with Russian President Vladimir Putin against the US-British coalition fighting in Iraq. Chirac threatened to veto a UN Security Council resolution that would have authorized the use of military force to rid the Middle Eastern country of suspected weapons of mass destruction, and called on other governments to take his position.

In 2007, in a televised address, Chirac announced that he would not run for a 3rd presidential term. Summing up the results of his reign, the long-time leader noted that “his entire life was devoted to serving his native country and the world.” Jacques' successor as head of France was the head of the Union for a Popular Movement, Nicolas Sarkozy.

After leaving office, Chirac created a personal foundation, which was engaged in humanitarian activities aimed at preventing conflicts, providing the planet's inhabitants with water and land resources, and preserving the cultural diversity of the planet's population. Jacques combined his charitable work with membership in the French Constitutional Council and work on his memoirs, published in 2011.

Death[]

On September 26, 2019, it became known about the death of Jacques Chirac.

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