François Hollande is a former President of France (2012-2017).
Born in Rouen, France in 1954, Mr Hollande graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Panthéon-Assas University and then attended the École Nationale d’Administration (ENA). He graduated from the ENA in 1980, and entered the prestigious Cour des Comptes, a French administrative court charged with conducting financial and legislative audits of most public institutions, including the National Government.
Prime Minister Hollande began his political career in 1981, as a special advisor to newly elected President François Mitterrand. In 1988, Hollande then became a member of the National Assembly, and was elected First Secretary of the Socialist Party in 1997, replacing Lionel Jospin, who became Prime Minister under President Jacques Chirac. In 2001, he would go on to be elected mayor of Tulle, a position he held until 2008. That year he resigned as First Secretary and was immediately elected to replace Jean-Pierre Dupont as President of the General Council of Corrèze in 2008. In 2011, Hollande announced that he would be a candidate in the primary election to select the Socialist Party presidential nominee; he won the nomination and, the following year, Hollande was elected President on 6 May 2012.
His Presidency was marked by the action he took against international terrorism and climate change. By deploying French troops to Mali in early 2013, Hollande stemmed the tide of violence caused by terrorist groups. It was also under his leadership that the Paris Agreement of 2015 was signed by an overwhelming majority of the global community. As well, he took historic steps to promote equality by lowering the unemployment rate, creating a “millionaire’s tax”, and legalizing same-sex marriage. Under his term, France also became the most visited country in the world and his Government’s efforts to attract the 2024 Summer Olympics to the city of Paris were successful.
Since leaving office, François Hollande chairs the Foundation “France is committed” that supports different initiatives for reinforcing solidarity and creating new bonds between French citizens. Additionally, since January 2019, Hollande is a Member of the World Leadership Alliance-Club of Madrid (WLA-CdM), thus remaining a leading voice in the global arena.
