born July 12, 1937, Meduon, France
French Socialist Party politician who served as the country's prime minister (19972002).
He was educated at the elite École Nationale d'Administration. He joined the foreign service and later taught economics at the University Institute of Technology of Paris-Sceaux. He was elected to the National Assembly in 1977 and later was appointed head of the party by Pres. François Mitterrand . He served as minister of education and narrowly lost the presidential election in 1995 to Jacques Chirac . After the Socialists and their allies won a majority in the National Assembly in 1997, he was appointed prime minister by Chirac. He resigned in 2002 after an unsuccessful presidential bid.