President Francois Hollande: biography, political activity, personal life

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

The current President of France, François Hollande, who held leading positions in the public administration, did not have any serious political ambitions in the past.

He felt great in the status of an "executive official", unquestioningly carrying out the instructions of his superior leader, Prime Minister Jospin. The local press has repeatedly written that François Hollande is a “quiet person”, who is the successor of the political traditions of the former president of the “fifth republic”, Mitterrand. At the same time, political scientists note that the current head of the French state does not have much experience in the field of administrative management. However, this circumstance did not prevent Hollande from taking the presidency: all the more so since this process was accelerated by fate itself, when one of their weighty candidates, Dominique Strauss, dropped out of the election race due to a sexual scandal. What was the path of ascent to the political Olympus of the current President of France?

Biography Facts

François Hollande was born on August 12, 1954 in the village of Rouen, which is located in northern France. The mother of the future politician (Nicole Tribert) worked as a social workerfactory worker.

Father Francois (Georges Hollande) was engaged in medical practice for the treatment of ENT diseases. Hollande also has a brother Philip. The boy's interest in politics woke up from a young age. He was ten years old when he began to watch a television channel, which often showed Charles de Gaulle himself and Mitterrand, who was gaining popularity, who later became at the helm of the country. The boy went to a Catholic school for several years, but when his parents moved to the capital, they sent him to a lyceum.

From 1974 to 1975, he learned the basics of entrepreneurship at the prestigious HEC Paris Business School. He was also a student at another educational institution - the Institute of Political Studies. The young Francois Hollande, whose biography is notable for the fact that because of myopia they did not want to take him into the army, received a good education. However, before focusing on a political career, he stated that he must "repay his debt to the Motherland", and fulfilled this mission with dignity.

Study continues…

After military service, Francois Hollande applies to the National School of Management and enters this elite educational institution. According to media reports, it was during this period of his political career that the young man got acquainted with the ideas of the socialists in detail and in 1979 joined their party. At the National School of Management, fate also confronts him with the future head of the French Cabinet, Dominique de Villepin. Here he also meets his future common-law wife -Segolene Royal, who would later become his party ally.

After graduating from the National School of Management, Francois Hollande (nationality - French) joins the Accounts Chamber as an auditor.

Beginning of political activity

In 1981, presidential elections are held in the "fifth republic", and Hollande provides all kinds of assistance in the struggle for first place to the representative of the Socialist Party - Mitterrand. He was an economic consultant and was even considered his confidant. In the future, Francois Hollande, whose political career growth was evident after the presidential elections, puts forward his candidacy for the elections to the National Assembly. They take place in the Ussel district of the Corrèze department. Journalists reported that nothing connected the young man with this administrative area. His rival in the elections was none other than Jacques Chirac, who called the politician Francois Hollande "Mitterrand's Labrador". One way or another, the young socialist failed to win, although he secured a very significant support - 26% of the vote.

Positions held by Hollande

For six years, between 1983 and 1989, François Hollande worked in the district of Ussel as a municipal councilor.

Two years after the presidential elections in 1981, he began working in the cabinet of Pierre Marois, and in 1984 he worked side by side with Roland Dumas, who headed the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, the future President Francois Hollande wasinvited to the post of Advisor to the Accounts Chamber.

In 1988, the politician becomes a parliamentarian for the Tulle district of the Corrès department, securing 53% of the vote.

From 1988 to 1991, the current President of France, François Hollande, focuses his efforts on teaching, lecturing at the Institute for Political Studies.

In 1993, he fails in the parliamentary elections and loses his deputy status. His interests shift temporarily and he practices as a lawyer for a friend for a while. But already in 1994, the socialists entrusted him with the post of national secretary of the party.

Hollande again MP

Three years later, François Hollande is back in the legislature as the Socialists win parliamentary elections. This time, the politician again receives a mandate from Tulle. The Cabinet of Ministers is now headed by Lionel Jospin, who supported Hollande's candidacy for the post of head of the French Socialist Party. This position for the politician became some kind of compensation for the fact that he did not receive a portfolio in the executive branch, unlike his many party comrades.

Political career "on the rise"

In 1998, a politician wins the local elections in Corrèze and secures 43% of the vote.

In the period from 1998 to 2001, France again opens up new political horizons for the socialist. François Hollande becomes presidential aideregional council of the Limousin region, of which the department of Corrèze was an integral part. He also becomes a member of the European Parliament, but will work in this status for only six months, focusing on activities in the National Assembly.

In 2001, the leader of the socialist party wins the Tulle mayoral election and leaves the position of vice-president of the regional council. A year later, he is re-elected to the National Assembly with almost 53% of the vote.

After some time, Francois Hollande proposed to organize a vote within the party, putting on the agenda the question of the adoption of a pan-European constitution by the “fifth republic”. Most of Hollande's fellow party members supported this idea, but the citizens of the country in the spring of 2005 spoke out against obeying the norms of the Basic Law of Europe. At the same time, Francois was re-elected head of the Socialist Party.

Wife participates in presidential elections

In 2007, the next presidential elections are held in France, and the civil wife of Hollande, Royal, is chosen as a candidate from the socialists. The politician strongly supports her. However, during the second round, she could not get around her rival - Nicolas Sarkozy, who gets the presidential chair.

In the summer of 2007, elections to the French Parliament were scheduled, and not so many people voted for the Socialists: they got 190 seats out of 577.

Hollande focuses on work in Corrèze

In the spring of 2008, Francois joins the General CouncilDepartment of Corrèze, and subsequently heads this body. At the same time, the politician loses the post of mayor of Tulle, which goes to his colleague Bernard Combe. In the autumn of the same year, Hollande decides to leave another post - the first secretary of the Socialist Party, in order to devote more time to work in the Corrèze department. He handed over the reins of the party to Martine Aubry.

At the end of March 2011, Francois is re-elected to the post of head of the general council of Corrèze. After that, he immediately announced that he intended to participate in the intra-party elections in order to represent the Socialist Party in the upcoming race for the presidency. However, the head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss, was supposed to seriously compete with him, however, as noted above, he was involved in a dirty scandal of an intimate nature, so he was forced to withdraw his candidacy.

Choice before elections

And yet, in the fall of 2011, Hollande had to prove to his fellow party members that he was the one who deserved to be nominated from the socialists in order to take the post of head of state. And he managed to worthily voice to his associates the idea that the policy of Francois Hollande as president of the "fifth republic" would meet the expectations and aspirations of the party leadership.

Socialist managed to get ahead of his rival Martina Aubry and win 56% of the votes.

Presidential Race

However, in order to get the presidency of the country, a lot of effort had to be made. Hollande's main competitor in the first round of electionsin the spring of 2012, Nicolas Sarkozy became the leader, for whom 27% of the voters voted. François won 29% of the vote. The second round of elections, scheduled for May 6, 2012, put an end to the political duel: the post of head of the French state went to Hollande - 52% of voters cast their votes for him.

Subsequently, the popularity rating of the politician as president has seriously decreased. The reason for this was the adoption of a number of unpopular measures, in particular, the introduction of a tax on luxury, the intervention in Mali, the legalization of same-sex marriage.

French President and German Chancellor

There are rumors in the press that Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande are a couple in love. Well, the head of the French state really does not hide the fact that he is not indifferent to Merkel. In an interview with Le Figaro, he once stated that he had been waiting for an opportunity to express his feelings to Angela for a long time.

But, of course, this is more of a joke, and it is about maintaining good neighborly relations and working together. Hollande also recalled that the history of relations between the leaders of the two countries testifies to productive bilateral work and even friendship. In addition, he considered it necessary to add that he and Merkel found a common language: both leaders are willing to come to a compromise in solving common problems.

Private life

It is known that Hollande has never been officially married. For more than a quarter of a century, he lived with his common-law wife Segolene Royal. The French president is the fatherfour children: Flora, Julien, Clemens and Thomas. But the relationship between Hollande and Royal was terminated. The politician fell in love with a young journalist, Valeria Trirweiler. In January 2014, it became known that the president had been dating Julie Gayet (actress) for a long time. Hollande himself said that the private life of each person is his own business, and it must be treated with respect.