born Feb. 2, 1926, Koblenz, Ger.
French political leader, third president of the Fifth Republic (197481).
He was elected to the National Assembly in 1956. He served as finance minister under Charles de Gaulle (196266) and Georges Pompidou (196974); in his first term of office France attained its first balanced budget in 30 years, but his conservative policies helped cause a recession and he was dismissed. In 1974 he became president after defeating François Mitterrand and helped strengthen the European Economic Community . In 1981 he was defeated in another runoff election with Mitterrand. Giscard later served in the National Assembly (198489) and the European Parliament (198993). In 2001 he was appointed by the European Union to chair a convention charged with drafting a constitution for the organization.
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, 1985.
©1985 Thierry Boccon-Gibod/Black Star