Lionel Jospin

French politician, a former Secretary of Economics at IUT, Paris-Sceax 1970-81. He was National Secretary in 1975-81 and later the first secretary of the Socialist Party. Jospin was elected the President of France on 3 June 1997 under Chirac as Prime Minister, succeeding former president Alain Juppe.

The youngest of four kids in a Protestant family, he was involved in church and family from youth. His parents were devoted and gave the kids a good moral education. Jospin was attracted to socialism as his dad was a member of the Party. His studies in political-science were brilliant and he became a Professor of Economics.

He moved into politics in 1981 in the Socialist Party where he became a deputy, but later left the party because of its link to communism.

Jospin married Elisabeth Dannenmuller on 29 March 1973; they divorced on 15 September 1993 and he married Sylviane Agacinsky on 30 June 1994. When Mitterand became president in 1988, Jospin backed his election campaign. He served as Minister of National Education during two ministers, Rochard and Cresson. Known as a superb analyst, he was, however, not good at uniting people.

In a startling upset, Jospin finished first in the opening round of France's presidential elections on 23 April 1995 with the favorite, conservative Paris mayor Jacques Chirac second. The election was the first step in choosing a new president in 14 years, one to succeed Francois Mitterand. Conservative Premier Edouard Balladur conceded and urged his supporters to back Chirac on the final vote, on 7 May 1994.

France's president is among the most powerful leaders in Europe; he controls foreign and defense policy, appoints the prime minister, presides over Cabinet meetings, influences judicial appointments and can dissolve parliament. On 20 February 2002, Socialist P.M. Jospin announced his candidacy in the spring presidential elections, making his second bid for the post.