Francois Hollande Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
Here is a look at the life of Francois Hollande, former president of France.
Personal
Birth date: August 12, 1954
Birth place: Rouen, Normandy, France
Birth name: François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande
Father: Georges Hollande, a physician
Mother: Nicole Tribert, a social worker
Marriage: Julie Gayet (June 4, 2022-present)
Children: with Ségolène Royal: Flora, Julien, Clémence and Thomas
Education: Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris (“Sciences Po”); École des Hautes Études Commerciales de Paris, École nationale d’administration
Military service: French Army, 1977
Religion: Atheist
Other Facts
Is the first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand left office in 1995.
Promises made during the campaign include renegotiating the austerity agreement, troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, lower retirement age and higher taxes on the very wealthy.
After the 2015 Charlie Hebdo Paris Terrorist attacks, Hollande called for convicted terrorists to be stripped of their French nationality if they held dual citizenship.
Taught economics at the elite Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris.
Timeline
1979 – Joins the Socialist Party.
1981 – Aide to Socialist President Francois Mitterrand.
1981 – Is defeated by Jacques Chirac for a French parliamentary seat.
1983-1984 – Member of staff for French Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy.
1983-1989 – Member of the Ussel City Council.
1988-1993 – Member of Parliament for Correze.
1994 – National Secretary of the Socialist Party for economic affairs.
1995-2001 – Council of Tulle member.
1997-2002 – Member of Parliament for Correze.
1997-2008 – First Secretary, Secretary General and leader of the Socialist Party.
2001-2008 – Mayor of Tulle.
May 18, 2003 – Signs the country’s first same-sex marriage act into law. The law also legalizes adoption for same-sex couples.
2007 – The 28-year relationship with the mother of his four children, Ségolène Royal, ends. They were never married.
October 16, 2011 – Wins the French presidential nomination for the Socialist Party, defeating candidates that include his former partner, Royal.
April 22, 2012 – Receives 28.6% of the vote in the French presidential election, slightly ahead of Nicolas Sarkozy’s 27.2%, forcing a May 6 runoff.
May 6, 2012 – Defeats Sarkozy with 51.62% of the vote in the runoff election.
May 15, 2012 – Inaugurated as president.
May 18-19, 2012 – Attends the G8 summit at Camp David, Maryland.
May 20-21, 2012 – Attends the NATO summit hosted in Chicago.
September 25, 2012 – Speaks at the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
January 25, 2014 – Announces the end of his seven-year relationship with journalist Valerie Trierweiler.
December 1, 2016 – Announces he will not seek a second term in office.
May 14, 2017 – Hollande leaves office as Emmanuel Macron is sworn in as the new president of France.
April 11, 2018 – His book about his time in office, Les leçons du pouvoir (“The Lessons of Power”), is published.
July 2019 – Testifies as a witness in a Brazilian corruption investigation involving Gripen fighter jets.
July 6, 2019 – Appears in a play at the Avignon theatre festival in the South of France.
June 4, 2022 – Marries actress Julie Gayet.
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