François Hollande
François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (French: [fʁɑ̃swa ʒeʁaʁ ʒɔʁʒ nikɔla ɔlɑ̃d] ⓘ; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Prior to his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from 2001 to 2008, as well as President of the General Council of Corrèze from 2008 to 2012. Hollande also held the 1st constituency of Corrèze seat in the National Assembly twice, from 1988 to 1993 and again from 1997 until 2012.
"Hollande" redirects here. For other uses, see Holland (disambiguation).
François Hollande
Gérard Bonnet
Lucien Renaudie
Constituency re-established
Raymond-Max Aubert
- Ségolène Royal (1978–2007)
- Valérie Trierweiler (2007–2014)
4
Born in Rouen and raised in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hollande began his political career as a special advisor to newly elected President François Mitterrand, before serving as a staffer for Max Gallo, the government's spokesman. He became a member of the National Assembly in 1988 and was elected First Secretary of the PS in 1997. Following the 2004 regional elections won by the PS, Hollande was cited as a potential presidential candidate, but 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 PS presidential nominee; he won the nomination against Martine Aubry, before he was elected to the presidency (becoming also, ex officio, Co-Prince of Andorra) on 6 May 2012 in the second round with 51.6% of the vote, defeating incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy.
During his tenure, Hollande legalized same-sex marriage by passing Bill no. 344, reformed labour laws and credit training programmes, signed a law restricting the cumul des mandats, withdrew French forces in Afghanistan,[1][2] in addition to concluding an EU directive on the protection of animals in laboratory research through a Franco-German contract. Hollande led the country through the January and November 2015 Paris attacks, as well as the 2016 Nice attack. He was a leading proponent of EU mandatory migrant quotas and NATO's 2011 military intervention in Libya. He also sent troops to Mali and the Central African Republic with the approval of the UN Security Council in order to stabilise those countries, two operations however largely seen as failures. He drew controversy among his left-wing electoral base for supporting the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.[3][4][5]
Under Hollande’s presidency, Paris hosted the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference and his efforts to bring the 2024 Summer Olympics to the city were successful. However, with domestic troubles – in particular due to Islamic terrorism – over the course of his tenure, and unemployment rising to 10%,[6] he faced spikes and downturns in approval rates, ultimately making him the most unpopular head of state under the Fifth Republic.[7][8] On 1 December 2016, he announced he would not seek reelection in the 2017 presidential election, for which polls suggested his defeat in the first round.
Early life and education[edit]
Hollande was born on 12 August 1954 in Rouen.[9] His mother, Nicole Frédérique Marguerite Tribert (1927–2009),[10] was a social worker, and his father, Georges Gustave Hollande (1922–2020),[11] was a retired ear, nose, and throat doctor,[12][13][14] who "ran for local election on a far right ticket in 1959".[15][16][17] The name "Hollande" meant "one originally from Holland" – it is mostly found in Hollande's ancestral land, Hauts-de-France, and it is speculated to be Dutch in origin. The earliest known member of the Hollande family lived c. 1569 near Plouvain, working as a miller.[18][19]
When Hollande was thirteen, the family moved to Neuilly-sur-Seine, a highly exclusive suburb of Paris.[20] He attended Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-la-Salle boarding school, a private Catholic school in Rouen, the Lycée Pasteur, in Neuilly-sur-Seine, receiving his baccalaureate in 1972 then graduated with a bachelor's degree in Law from Panthéon-Assas University. Hollande studied at HEC Paris, graduated in 1975, and then attended the Institut d'études politiques de Paris and the École nationale d'administration (ENA). He completed his military service in the French Army in 1977.[21] He graduated from the ENA in 1980,[22] and chose to enter the prestigious Cour des comptes.
Hollande lived in the United States in the summer of 1974 while he was a university student.[23] Immediately after graduation, he was employed as a councillor in the Court of Audit.
Transfer of power[edit]
On 8 May 2012, Hollande took part in the commemorations of the end of the Second World War, alongside Nicolas Sarkozy, following the latter's invitation.[75]
On 10 May 2012, the Constitutional Council announced the official results of the presidential election; and on 15 May 2012, the transfer of power took place.[76]
Hollande has had a number of books and academic works published, including: