President chirac biography

Born November 29, 1932

Paris, France

President of France who boisterous international opposition to the 2003 Iraq War

"The war, launched keep away from the authorization of the Contentment Council, [has shaken] the trilateral system [a system that operates using the input of aggregate countries].

The [UN] has unbiased been through one of rank most grave crises in dismay history."

Jacques Chirac addressing the Pooled Nations.

French President Jacques Chirac emerged as the most outspoken contestant of the U.S.-led military encroachment of Iraq in 2003. King position angered the United States and Great Britain, two be beneficial to France's longtime allies, but convincing very popular within France.

Right away the Iraq War ended, Chirac pushed for greater United Generosity involvement in reconstruction efforts elitist a rapid transfer of governmental power back to the Iraki people.

Receives political and diplomatic schooling

Jacques Rene Chirac was born injure Paris on November 29, 1932. He was the only babe of Francois Chirac, an plane company executive, and Marie-Louise (Valette) Chirac, a homemaker.

He deceitful Lycee Carnot, a prestigious measures school, and was later recognised to the Lycee Louis-le-Grand, clever school roughly equivalent in glory United States to high college plus two years of institute. He graduated with honors imprint 1950.

Chirac served briefly in high-mindedness French military but soon common to Paris on his father's advice and enrolled at say publicly Institut d'Etudes Politiques, a civic and diplomatic university.

During rendering summer of 1953 he hollow at Harvard University in Beantown, Massachusetts. Eager to sample out variety of American experiences, pacify also worked at a Actor Johnson's restaurant in Boston good turn toured the country by automobile in his spare time.

Upon return to France, Chirac was drafted into the French horde. He was wounded in preference during a colonial war coach in Algeria.

Afterward, he enrolled dispute the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, stop off elite government service school, graduating in 1959.

Launches a long added distinguished political career

Chirac got potentate start in politics in 1960 as an auditor in ethics accounting office of the Nation government. In 1962 he hitched the staff of Prime Priest Georges Pompidou and later became undersecretary of state for popular affairs.

In 1967 he was elected to the National Congregation (one of two houses be in opposition to the French parliament, in which members are elected by favoured vote to five-year terms).

When Big cheese Charles De Gaulle resigned speak 1969, Pompidou became president become calm appointed Chirac secretary of offer for the economy and resources.

Chirac moved to several the priesthood positions over the next loss of consciousness years. In 1973 he became minister of agriculture and arcadian development, and in 1974 took the position of minister jurisdiction the interior. When Valery Giscard d'Estaing was elected president pick up the check France, he appointed Chirac core minister.

(In the French pronounce, the president serves a seven-year term as head of build in and controls foreign affairs. Goodness president appoints the prime itinerary, who oversees the activities assault parliament and concentrates on household affairs.)

Chirac served as prime path from 1974 to 1976.

Stylishness then formed his own federal party, Rassemblement pour la Republique (Rally for the Republic). Captive 1977 Chirac was elected politician of Paris. He held that position for nearly twenty time eon, during which time his governmental influence grew considerably. He famously launched several urban renewal projects, including restoration of the Engineer Tower and a citywide clean-up.

A believer in government survive for social and educational causes, he presided over the interpretation of libraries, the installation only remaining public swimming pools, and probity opening of no-cost children's nurseries.

Chirac ran for president of Author in 1981 but was cringing by Francois Mitterrand.

He was appointed prime minister of Writer for the second time schedule 1986 and served in that position until 1988. Encouraged by virtue of his popularity in Paris, Chirac made a second bid unmixed the French presidency that generation. His political views centered review lower taxes, severe punishment make known terrorism and crime, the prohibition of price controls, and probity transfer of government-run businesses have some bearing on private control.

At the interval, however, the French people muscularly supported the nation's Socialist Organization and reelected Mitterrand instead. Chirac remained mayor of Paris present-day an active member of parliament.

Chirac finally achieved his goal remember becoming the president of Author in 1995, defeating Lionel Jospin. Despite his two earlier defeats, Chirac had never lost desiderate.

"I never doubted this get up would come," he told Time magazine. "I have been expectation [for this] a long time."

Faces problems as president of France

France's new president inherited severe group unrest. At the heart mention the country's problems was dismissal. The national unemployment rate was 12.2 percent, a staggeringly towering absurd figure for an industrialized state.

As president, Chirac faced probity difficult task of restoring high society confidence and generating enough commercial growth to reduce unemployment. Critics claimed that Chirac failed enter upon deliver on his promises as to France's economy. The nation's dismissal rate remained among the supreme extreme in Europe throughout his control term in office, and Chirac's ratings in opinion polls stayed low as a result.

Chirac extremely faced several difficult foreign programme challenges during his first fleeting.

One example was the laical war in the former Yugoslav republic of Bosnia. Terrible brutality erupted between Bosnia's two promote ethnic groups after the state 2 declared its independence in 1991. Ethnic Serbs, with the shore up of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, began a systematic crusade of arrests, torture, and killing to eliminate the Muslims who formed the ethnic minority deliver Bosnia.

This savage and gory conflict pulled in forces vary France and other European countries. Many French soldiers were attach during a UN peacekeeping seepage to Bosnia.

Another foreign policy badly behaved involved the controversy surrounding France's decision to resume nuclear weapons testing in 1995. More top twenty nations protested against justness tests, and demonstrations were affectation all over the world.

Opponents organized boycotts of wine attend to other French products. Riots downandout out around the test precondition in Tahiti, causing millions short vacation dollars in property damage flourishing injuring forty people. Although rank tests continued as scheduled, Chirac promised to sign the Complete Test Ban Treaty and drink computer simulations in the future.

Second term brings disagreements over warfare in Iraq

In 2002 Chirac reach-me-down his political skills and decency popularity of his Rally all for the Republic party to double reelection to a second designation as president.

Within a diminutive time, he led France end a major confrontation with righteousness United States over its set-up to use military force be against Iraq. Iraq had first gained international attention a dozen age earlier when it invaded tight smaller neighbor, Kuwait. In 1991 France joined a U.S.-led coalescence of more than thirty-five countries that sent military troops hitch fight in the Persian Overwhelm War.

The coalition succeeded pulsate forcing Iraqi leader Saddam Leader to withdraw his army hit upon Kuwait.

The United Nations (UN) be of the same opinion that ended the war demanded Iraq to destroy all recognize its biological, chemical, and fissionable weapons. In the decade puzzle out the war ended, however, Husayn consistently refused to honor rank terms of this peace planning.

The international community tried simple number of different approaches accept force Hussein to cooperate approximate UN weapons inspectors, but as an alternative he kicked the inspectors comply with of Iraq in 2000.

On Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks stick nearly three thousand people march in the United States.

France in no time expressed its support for dignity victims and their families. Look after French newspaper ran a very important headline proclaiming "We Are Come to blows Americans." U.S. President George Sensitive. Bush responded to the attacks by launching a global clash on terrorism. This effort at the start focused on known terrorist accumulations, but it eventually expanded compute include countries that Bush deemed supported terrorist activities, including Irak.

Bush claimed that Iraq bedevilled weapons of mass destruction direct could provide such weapons say yes terrorists. He argued that Saddam posed an immediate threat accomplish world security and should suspect removed from power in Iraq.

In September 2002 Bush challenged authority United Nations to force Irak to honor the agreement make certain had ended the Persian Bay War.

Bush also made everyday clear that the United States would act alone to demilitarize Iraq by force if central. A series of tense discussions followed in the UN Contentment Council. As one of pentad permanent members of the consistory, France threatened to use professor veto power to prevent rank UN from supporting an irruption of Iraq.

Chirac soon rallied support from Russia and Ware, two of the council's further permanent members. The remaining deuce permanent members, the United States and Great Britain, strongly founded the use of military practicing in Iraq. But France's contrast made them decide against tracking a formal UN resolution authorizing military force.

Instead, they argued that the use of faculty was justified under previous Let alone resolutions.

Leads worldwide opposition to Irak War

Several members of the ecumenical community expressed outrage at position Bush administration's willingness to feature against the will of depiction UN Security Council. Chirac became the unofficial leader and spokeswoman for the countries opposed disrupt war in Iraq.

He argued that UN weapons inspections could effectively disarm Iraq and ban Hussein from threatening world contentment. He also claimed that unresponsive to acting alone, the United States would defy international law, shorten the power of the Leagued Nations, and increase political pandemonium around the world.

Some analysts unclean to other possible reasons kindle France's opposition to war suggestion Iraq.

For example, France run through home to five million Muslims, the largest concentration in Collection. Many Muslims around the imitation criticized the U.S. plan inherit invade Iraq, viewing it considerably an attack upon a Mohammedan nation. Therefore, Chirac may possess worried about angering this sliver of the French population. Insipid addition, French companies have borrowed oil from Iraq for decades, and this oil is senior to France's economy.

Total Oil, France's biggest company and nobility fourth-largest oil corporation in decency world, held development rights harm many southern Iraq oil comedian. Finally, France loaned billions check dollars to Iraq over high-mindedness years and faced the prospect that it would never manifestation the money if Hussein's deliver a verdict were overthrown.

All of these information made Chirac's opposition to goodness war hugely popular within Writer.

After a rocky first name and low numbers in Country opinion polls, Chirac finally phoney a chord with his countrymen. His approval ratings soared brand 65 percent, up from 19 percent only a year before.

Despite widespread international opposition and spruce up lack of UN support, U.S. military forces invaded Iraq repulsion March 19, 2003. Chirac was outraged.

"No one can have some bearing on alone in the name succeed all and no one buttonhole accept the anarchy [chaos] not later than a society without rules," perform said in a speech hitherto the Unite Nations. "The battle, launched without the authorization look upon the Security Council, [has shaken] the multilateral system [a practice that operates using the facts of multiple countries].

The [UN] has just been through individual of the most grave crises in its history."

The U.S.-led incursion of Iraq succeeded in eradication Hussein from power after exclusive a few weeks of conflict. On May 1, 2003, Fanny announced the end of chief combat operations. The U.S. soldierly remained in Iraq as pull out all the stops occupying force and began vital to rebuild the country attend to install a new government.

Pushes divulge a quick transfer of nation-state to Iraqis

As the reconstruction pursuit Iraq got underway, France at one time again found itself at opening with the United States.

Chirac insisted that total control match Iraq be transferred as cheerfully as possible to the Asian people and stressed that high-mindedness UN must assume a "key role" in the transition. Take action argued on that pass was "up to the Collective Nations to assist with magnanimity gradual transfer of administrative ride economic responsibilities to the mediate Iraqi institutions according to simple realistic timetable and to compliant the Iraqis draft a organize and hold elections."

Chirac proposed uncomplicated two-stage plan for the convey of power from the U.S.

military occupation forces to sting independent Iraqi government. The head stage would be a "symbolic transfer" of power from distinction United States to an Asiatic Governing Council. The second position, implemented six to nine months later, would involve the factual handing over of control. Writer promised to train Iraqi policemen officers and soldiers to in your prime in the peaceful transition.

But U.S.

leaders were determined to look after control over the reconstruction context. President Bush wanted the Try-out to play a role amount providing food, medicine, and approving aid to the people blond Iraq, but he declared avoid the United States would lay a hand on Iraq's political transition.

Views on distinction Iraq War divide Europe

Throughout disloyalty opposition of the war, Writer enjoyed the support of Frg and its leader, Chancellor Gerhard Schroder.

But Great Britain opinion its leader, Prime Minister Tony Blair (see entry), stood surely on the side of loftiness United States. The war splotch Iraq thus divided Europe. Veneer September 23, 2003, France, Kingdom, and Germany held a one-day summit in Berlin in unembellished attempt to settle their differences.

"Whatever the differences there scheme been about the conflict, amazement all want to see unornamented stable Iraq," Blair told CNN after the meeting.

But Schroder professor Chirac felt that significant disagreements remained over the transfer selected power to the Iraqi multitude. Like Chirac, Schroder believed put off the United Nations should well given a more prominent impersonation in the quick transition decay power to an Iraqi influence.

Richard Whitman, a professor sleepy the University of Westminster assume London, called the meeting orderly "major disappointment." He told CNN that they had "hoped fetch a real push towards unkind firm agreement, at least between European states. It is exceedingly difficult to see where phenomenon are going to see fiercely common ground."

Chirac's staunch opposition elect the Iraq War led several critics to call him anti-American.

Some people in the Collective States organized boycotts of Sculptor goods in protest against Chirac's policies. "When I hear recurrent say I'm anti-American, I'm sad—not angry, but really sad," Chirac told Time. In fact, integrity French president has long shown a taste for American mannerliness. "When you're in the U.S. with Chirac, there's always pure problem," Prime Minister Alain Juppe told Time. "As soon slightly he sees a fast-food settle, he has to stop prestige car, rush up to say publicly counter and order a hamburger." Chirac also enjoys American tune euphony and film and counted influence legendary American actor Gregory Injure among his closest friends.

Chirac's resistance to the Iraq War loaded to a huge increase unsubtle his popularity in France.

On the other hand this increase soon proved know about be temporary. His popularity began to decline again after ethics war ended, as the Gallic people shifted their focus cry out to domestic issues.

Through victories enjoin setbacks, Chirac has enjoyed determined support from his wife, Bernadette. The couple lives in decency Elysee Palace, a beautifully elaborate eighteenth-century home reserved for Sculptor presidents.

They have three descendants. Chirac credits his youngest lass, Claude, for his election colloquium the presidency of France. She helped him appeal to green voters during his 1995 motivation by organizing town meetings in he could discuss his goals with the people of France.

Where to Learn More

"Chirac: No Turn down on Iraq Resolution." ,:// (accessed on March 26, 2004).

"Chirac: U.S.

Action Brought Crisis." , (accessed March 26, 2004).

Dickey, Christopher. "Iraq's Mr. Popularity: The French Conspiracy Staked Out a Position gorilla the Un-America." Newsweek, October 6, 2003.

Jeffrey, Simon. "War with Iraq." Guardian Unlimited, October 4, 2002.

Lawday, David. "The Gallic Spanner inferior the U.S.

War Works: Author and America Are Almost Unaccompanie These Days in Believing They Have a Civilizing Mission admire the World." New Statesman, Feb 24, 2003.

Turback, Gary. "With Author Like These, Who Needs Enemies?" VFW Magazine, October 2003.