Jacques Chirac

In 1959, after completing studies at the École Nationale d'Administration, Jacques Chirac entered high-level civil service, then soon entered politics. He has since occupied various high-level positions, such as minister of agriculture, prime minister, mayor of Paris, and finally president of France.

Early political career

Inspired by General Charles de Gaulle to enter public life, Chirac continued pursuing civil service in the 1950s. He attended Harvard University's summer School before entering the ENA (the elite, competitive-entrance college that trains France's top civil servants) in 1957.

Related Topics:
Charles de Gaulle - 1950s - Harvard University - 1957

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After earning a graduate degree from the ENA in 1959, he then became a civil servant and rose rapidly through the ranks. In April 1962, only three years after having graduated from the École Nationale d'Administration, Chirac was appointed head of the personal staff of Georges Pompidou, then prime minister under de Gaulle. This appointment launched Chirac's political career.

Related Topics:
1959 - April - 1962 - Georges Pompidou

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Pompidou considered Chirac his protégé and referred to him as "my bulldozer" for his skill at getting things done. The nickname "Le Bulldozer" caught on in French political circles. Chirac still maintains this reputation. "Chirac cuts through the crap and comes straight to the point. ... It's refreshing, although you have to put your seat belt on when you work with him," said an anonymous British diplomat in 1995.

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At Pompidou's suggestion, Chirac ran as a Gaullist for a seat in the National Assembly in 1967. Chirac won the election and was given a post in the ministry of social affairs. (Gaullists have historically supported a strong central government and independence in foreign policy.) Although more of a "Pompidolian" than a "Gaullist," Chirac was well situated in de Gaulle's entourage, being related by marriage to the general's sole companion at the time of the June 1940 Appel.

Related Topics:
National Assembly - 1967 - Gaullist - June - 1940

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Chirac already rose to become economy minister in the late 1960s, serving as department head and a secretary of state. As state secretary at the Ministry of Economy and Finance (1968-1971), he had worked closely with Giscard d'Estaing, who had then headed the ministry. In 1968, when student and worker strikes rocked France (see May 1968), Chirac played a central role in negotiating a truce. The young technocrat from ENA then rose to fame; Chirac was caricatured as the archetypal brilliant ENA graduate in Astérix.

Related Topics:
1960s - 1968 - 1971 - Giscard d'Estaing - May 1968 - Technocrat - Astérix

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Chirac's first high-level post came in 1972 when he became minister of agriculture and rural development under his mentor Georges Pompidou, who was elected president in 1969. He quickly earned a reputation as a champion of French farmers' interests. As minister of agriculture, Chirac first attracted international attention when he assailed U.S., West German, and European Commission agricultural policies that conflicted with French interests.

Related Topics:
1972 - 1969

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In 1974 Chirac was appointed Minister of the Interior. As minister of the interior from March 1974 he was entrusted by President Pompidou with preparations for the presidential election then scheduled for 1976. However, these elections were brought forward by Pompidou's sudden death on 2 April. In 1974 former minister of economy and finance Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, a non-Gaullist centrist, was elected Pompidou's successor amid France's most competitive election campaign in years.

Related Topics:
1974 - Minister of the Interior - March - 1976 - 2 April - Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

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