- Danielle Mitterrand
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Danielle Mitterrand Wife of the President of the French Republic In office
21 May 1981 – 17 May 1995President François Mitterrand Preceded by Anne-Aymone Sauvage de Brantes Succeeded by Bernadette Chodron de Courcel Personal details Born October 29, 1924
Verdun, MeuseDied 22 November 2011 (aged 87)
Paris, Ile-de-FranceSpouse(s) François Mitterrand Children Pascal Mitterrand (b. 1945, d. 1945)
Jean-Christophe Mitterrand (b. 1946)
Gilbert Mitterrand (b. 1949)Danielle Mitterrand (born Danielle Émilienne Isabelle Gouze; 29 October 1924 – 22 November 2011) was the widow of French President François Mitterrand, and president of the foundation France Libertés Fondation Danielle Mitterrand.[1]
Contents
Biography
When she was seventeen years old, her family (her parents were teachers) aided the French Resistance and helped lodge men of the Maquis (French Resistance), and she became a liaison officer in the Resistance. She met François Mitterrand there, and married him after the Liberation three years later, on 28 October 1944.[1]
She created the France-Libertés Foundation in 1986, when she was First Lady, with the fusion of three smaller associations which had been established in 1981.[1] In 1996 Madame Mitterrand was one of the winners of the North-South Prize.[2]
Danielle Mitterrand had three sons: Pascal (who died in childhood), Jean-Christophe and Gilbert Mitterrand.[1]
Opinions
Mrs. Mitterrand was a long time supporter of Cuba and its Marxist-Leninist government.[3] She also supported the Sandinistas when her late husband gave them military aid in their war against US-backed forces in Nicaragua.[4] She was very critical with respect to Turkey, opposing its accession to the European Union and supportive of the Kurdistan independence movement.[5] She voiced her views in favour of the Sahrawi,[6] Subcomandante Marcos,[7] and the Tibetan people,[8] among others.
Even as First Lady, she spoke up against human rights violations, including in countries with which the French government was seeking to maintain good relations; she earned the ire both of the Chinese government and of King Hassan II of Morocco, in particular. Her France-Libertés Foundation provided financial support to local human rights initiatives abroad, and also financed access to medicine and education in poor countries.[1]
She supported a "no" vote in the 2005 French referendum on the European Constitution: "I denounce the power of the economy over people, a system that turns individuals into elements in an economic equation, does not respect the poor and excludes everyone that does not live up to the principle of profitability." [9]
Works
- These men are first our brothers (Ces hommes sont avant tout nos frères), Ramsay, 1996, on the Indians of Chiapas
- Torture in Tunisia: Committee for freedom and human rights in Tunisia (La torture en Tunisie : Comité pour le respect des libertés et des droits de l’homme en Tunisie), Le temps des cerises, 2000
References
- ^ a b c d e "Danielle Mitterrand, les combats d'une militante", Le Monde, 22 November 2011
- ^ "The North South Prize of Lisbon". North-South Centre. Council of Europe. Archived from the original on 2008-02-15. http://web.archive.org/web/20080215230739/http://www.coe.int/t/e/north-south_centre/programmes/7_north-south_prize/winners_PNS.asp. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ . http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_n1_v40/ai_6284469/.[dead link]
- ^ "Cyprus News Agency: News in English (AM), 99-03-10". Hri.org. 1999-03-10. https://www.hri.org/news/cyprus/cna/1999/99-03-10.cna.html. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
- ^ "afrol News - Systematic maltreatments revealed in Saharawi camps". Afrol.com. http://www.afrol.com/articles/10480. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
- ^ Smith, David (11 March 2001). "Mexico waits for the masked crusader". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/mexico/1325993/Mexico-waits-for-the-masked-crusader.html. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
- ^ "Danielle Mitterrand, Hugh Richardson and Richard Blum to Receive ICT's Light of Truth Awards | International Campaign for Tibet". Savetibet.org. 1999-10-04. http://www.savetibet.org/media-center/ict-news-reports/danielle-mitterrand-hugh-richardson-and-richard-blum-receive-icts-ligh. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
- ^ Francois Mitterrand's Widow Says, "I Will Vote No" Spiegel-Interview with Danielle Mitterrand, 05/23/2005
External links
Categories:- 1924 births
- 2011 deaths
- Female resistance members of World War II
- French Resistance members
- People from Verdun
- Spouses of French presidents
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