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Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Valery Giscard D'Estaing, commonly referred to in France by his initials VGE, likes to see himself as a GOM - Grand Old Man of French politics.

Born in Germany in 1926, where his father was a civil servant with the occupying forces after World War I, he had a precocious political career serving as finance minister for many years in the 1960s.

Then, in 1974, he launched a successful bid for the presidency, presenting himself at the time as a modern and moderate alternative to the austere conservatism of Gaullism.

He founded the UDF party, still today a major force in France, as his political vehicle.

DETAILED CURRICULUM VITAE

Valery GISCARD d'Estaing was born on 2 February 1926 in Coblence.

After serving in the French Resistance, he enlisted at the age of 18 and participated in the French and German campaigns, for which he was awarded the Croix de Guerre.

He completed his studies at the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, and joined the Inspection Générale des Finances in 1952, where he pursued an administrative career until 1956. He was Deputy Director first to the Office of the Minister of Finance, and then to Edgar FAURE, President of the Council of Ministers.

1956 - 1974: ELECTIVE OFFICES

Elected Member of Parliament from the Puy-de-Dôme department in 1956. Re-elected four times to the National Assembly, serving until 1974.

Elected Mayor of Chamalières (Puy-de-Dôme) in 1967 and 1971, serving until 1974.

Elected to the General Council of the Puy-de-Dôme, serving from 1958 to 1974, elected again in March 1982.

GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS

1959 to 1962: Secretary of State for Finance in the Finance Ministries of Antoine PINAY and Wilfrid BAUGARTNER
1962 to 1966: Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs in the DEBRE and POMPIDOU Governments under President Charles de GAULLE
1969 to 1974: Minister of Economy and Finance in the CHABAN-DELMAS and MESSMER Governments under President Georges POMPIDOU

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES

In 1965, he founded the CLUBS PERSPECTIVES ET REALITES, clubs for discussion and proposal of political ideas.

In 1966, he founded the National of Independent Republicans, which in 1977 became the Republican Party (PARTI REPUBLICAIN).

1974-1981: PRESIDENT OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC

During his term of office, Valéry GISCARD d'ESTAING played a crucial role in several international initiatives, among which were:

Creation of the European Council, which regularly brought together the heads of government and the heads of state of the European Community, first in Paris in 1974.

Election by universal suffrage of the EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT (decision of the Council of Ministers of the EEC in 1976; first elections in Europe in June 1979).

Creation of the EUROPEAN MONETARY SYSTEM, a project that was presented jointly by France and Germany in 1978, and put into operation by decision of the European Council in Paris in 1979.

Creation of world summits of chiefs of state and heads of government of the principal industrialised democracies. He organised the first summit at RAMB0UILLET (France) in 1975, and participated in the meetings until 1980 at VENICE.

Proposal of NORTH-SOUTH dialogue. The first North-South Conference took place in PARIS in December 1975.

Proposal to create a DISARMAMENT INSTITUTE in 1978 presented to the General Assembly of the United Nations. The Institute was established in GENEVA in December 1980.

Participation by France in the DISARMAMENT COMMITTEE in Geneva since 1979.

Defining a concerted Western policy on oil imports at the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, and the Tokyo summit in June 1979.

1981: ELECTORAL MANDATES

1982 to 1988: He is elected General Councillor for the Puy-de-Dôme in March 1982, re-elected in March 1985. He vacates his seat in June 1988 owing to the law on the plurality of mandates.
1984 to 1989: He is elected Member of Parliament (UDF) for the Puy-de-Dôme, re-elected in March 1986 and June 1988. He vacates his seat in November 1989 owing to the law on the plurality of mandates.
Since 1986: He is elected Regional Councillor of Auvergne on 16 March 1986; he is elected President of the Regional Council of Auvergne on 21 March 1986. Re-elected in March 1992.
1987 to 1989: On 7 April 1987, he is elected President of the Commission of Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly. Re-elected on 28 June 1988 and 4 April 1989.
1989 to 1993: On 18 June 1989, after having lead the campaign for the European Elections at the head of a joint UDF/RPR list, he is elected member of the European Parliament, where he is a member of the European People's Party (EPP). He vacates his seat in June 1993 owing to the law on the plurality of mandates.
1993 to 1997: On 21 March 1993, he is re-elected Member of Parliament (UDF) for the Puy-de-Dôme.
1993 to 1997: On 8 April 1993, he is elected President of the Commission of Foreign Affairs of the National Assembly.
Since 1997: On 1st June 1997, he is re-elected Member of Parliament for the Puy-de-Dôme.
Elected President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions on October 27 2001, he is re-elected in Brussels for a three year mandate in Octoer 2001.
On 14 December 2001, he is appointed by the European Council as Chairman of the Convention on the Future of Europe.

POLITICAL ACTIVITES

1982: He creates the COUNCIL FOR THE FUTURE OF FRANCE.
1984: He is designated to head the CLUBS PERSPECTIVES ET REALITES which he founded, and which became in 1995, the Parti Populaire pour la Démocratie Française (PPDF), one of the six parties which make up UDF.
1989 to 1996: President of the UDF (Union pour la Démocratie Française), a confederation of six parties from the centre and the centre-right represented in the Parliament.
1989 to 1997: President of the international EUROPEAN MOVEMENT
1992: On 19 November 1992, he is elected President of the APCR (Association des Présidents de Conseils Régionaux).
Since 1998: On 23 October 1997, he is elected International President of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions and is re-elected for a three-year mandate in Lisbon the following year.

COMMITTEE FOR THE MONETARY UNION OF EUROPE (CMUE)

In 1986, he creates, with former Chancellor Helmut SCHMIDT, the Committee for the Monetary Union of Europe, of which they are co-chairmen. This Committee includes 17 members from the EC countries (politicians, bankers, business leaders). In July 1988, they published the « Programme for Action », the outcome of its works from 1986 to June 1988, the proposals of which were the basis of the activities of the Delors Committee from July 1988 to April 1989. The CMUE is currently studying new means to promote and accelerate the realisation of the European Monetary Union.

Since 1995, he has been a member of the Real Academia de Ciencias Economicas y Financieras (Spain).

On 17 December 1952, Valery GISCARD d'ESTAING married Anne-Aymone de BRANTES. They have four children (Valerie-Anne, Henri, Louis and Jacinte).

BOOKS

1976: FRENCH DEMOCRACY (Démocratie Française)
1984: TWO FRENCH OUT OF THREE (Deux Français sur Trois)
1988: POWER AND LIFE (Le Pouvoir et la Vie « La Rencontre »)
1991: POWER AND LIFE - 2nd vol. (Le Pouvoir et la Vie « L'Affrontement »)
1994: LE PASSAGE
1995: IN 5 YEARS, THE YEAR 2000 (Dans 5 ans, l'An 2000)

Books of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing on his homepage (in french)

VALÉRY GISCARD D'ESTAING'S VISIONS?

More than his professional activities, the relevant questions for us are the following ones: what are VGE’s visions for EU’s future? What are the position of the convention’s chairman towards federalism? The answers to the questions are very hard to find because of the plurality and the disagreement of the speeches he pronounced. We can confine ourselves to know a few points:
- After Joschka Fischer’s speech he suggested with Jacques Delors and Helmut Schmidt that to preserve Europe’s dynamic and to hammer out the terms of the federal experiment an inner core group should be formed.
- He compared the Convention on the EU future with the Philadelphia Convention that prepared a constitution for the US.
- He said also that „the aim of the convention on EU future is to present to the intergovernmental conference a unique, complete document, which should be a constitutive instrument“.
- He said also that Nice „might ever enter into force“

No doubt that VGE’s views about Europe’s future will come out in the coming months... patience dear european friends, patience...

LINKS

Homepage of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (in french)

CV of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

Short profile of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in BBC

CONTRIBUTIONS OF VALÉRY GISCARD D'ESTAING IN THE CONVENTION

Speech of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing at the opening of the convention

Address by Mr Giscard d'Estaing, Chairman of the European Convention, Stuttgart, 5 May 2002

Address by Mr Giscard d'Estaing, Chairman of the European Convention, at the European Council, Seville, 22 June 2002

Speech by Mr V. Giscard d'Estaing, Chairman of the European Convention, at the inaugural meeting of the Youth Convention, Brussels, 10 July 2002

ARTICLES IN THE PRESS CONCERNING VALÉRY GISCARD D'ESTAING

The tortoise is thinking of moving (Economist.com; 18.07.2002)