Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic
Jacques Chirac was born on 29 November 1932 in the 5th arrondissement of Paris. Son of Franois Chirac, a company director, and Marie-Louise, née Valette. He was married on 16 March 1956 to Mlle Bernadette Chodron de Courcel and has two children: Laurence and Claude. Chirac received his education at the Lycée Carnot and Lycée Louis-le-Grand, Paris. He is also a graduate of the Paris Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Institute of Political Science), and of the Harvard University Summer School (USA).
His decorations include: Grand-Croix de la Légion d'Honneur,
Grand-Croix de l'Ordre National du Mérite,
Croix de la Valeur Militaire,
Médaille de l'Aéronautique (aerospace industry),
Chevalier du Mérite Agricole, des Arts et des Lettres, de l'Etoile Noire, du Mérite Sportif, du Mérite Touristique,
Grand-croix du Mérite de l'Ordre Souverain de Malte (Grand Cross of the Merit of the Sovereign Order of Malta).
Career
1957-1959: Ecole nationale d'Administration (competitive-entrance college which trains top civil servants)
1959: Auditeur (Junior member) of the cour des comptes (Audit Court)
1962: Chargé de mission at the Government Secretariat-General and Chargé de mission in the private office of Georges Pompidou, Prime Minister
1965-1993: Conseiller référendaire (middle-ranking member) of the Cour des comptes
March 1965 to March 1977: Member of the Sainte-Féréole (Corrze) municipal council
March - May 1967: National Assembly Deputy fot he Corrèze départment
1967-1968: State Secretary for Social Affairs, with responsibility for Employment (government of Georges Pompidou)
1968: Member of the Corrèze General Council for the canton of Meymac, re-elected in 1970, 1976, 1982)
1968-1971: State Secretary for the Economy and Finance (governments of Georges Pompidou, Maurice Couve de Murville and Jacques Chaban-Delmas)
June 1968 - August 1968: UDR (Union pour la Défense de la RŽpublique)National Assembly Deputy for the Corrèze département
Since 1969: Treasurer of the Fondation Claude Pompidou (a voluntary organization providing assistance particularly for the elderly and handicapped children)
1970 to March 1979: Chairman of the Corrèze General Council
1971-1972: Minister attached ti the Prime Minister, with responsibility for relations with Parliament (government of Jacques Chaban-Delmas)
1972-1973: Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (government of Pierre Messmer)
March 4 1973 to May 5 1973: Re-elected National Assembly Deputy for the Corrze département
1973-1974: Minister of the Interior (government of Messmer)
1974: Minister of the Interior (government of Messmer)
27 May, 1974: Prime Minister
December 1974 - June 1975: Union des Démocrates pour la République (UDR) General Secretary
June 1975: UDR, Honorary General Secretary
25 August 1976: Tendered his government resignation
1976 to 15 May 1995: Re-elected National Assembly Deputy for Corréze dŽpartement, 3rd constituency
5 December 1976 to 12 November 1994: Elected Chairman of the Rassemblement pour la République (RPR)
20 March 1977 to 16 May 1995: Elected Mayor of Paris
1 May 1979: Elected Chairman of the Association internationale des Maires et Responsables des Capitales et Métropoles partiellement ou entirement francophones (AIMF) (international association of mayors and those in charge of partially or entirely French-speaking capitals and cities)
June 10, 1979: Elected to the European Parliament - Défense des Intérêts de la France en Europe (defending France's interests in Europe) list. He resigned his seat in 1980
20 March 1986 to 10 May 1988: Prime minister (Cohabitation)
7 May 1995: Elected President of the French Republic
17 May 1995: Inauguration as President of the Republic
5 May 2002: Re-elected President of the French Republic
16 May 2002: Inauguration as President of the Republic
Information Courtesy of the Présidence de la Republique