François Mitterrand

François Mitterrand was born in Jarnac on October 26, 1916. He was finishing his studies in Paris when he was called by the French army in September 1939. He was 3 times mentioned, then injured and imprisoned but he escaped in December 1941 during his transfer to another war camp. Back to France, he joined the Résistance where he had an important role. After the war, in November 1946, he was elected deputy in the Nièvre and had several ministerial responsibilities during the 10 first years of the Fourth Republic. He was Minister of the French Overseas Departments, which allowed him to show his will of decolonization, to calm different tensions in the colonies and to create personal and lasting relationships with African leaders; then he retired from this post in 1953 before becoming Secretary of State for the Home Department in 1954-1955 and Minister of Justice in 1956. In 1958, he criticized the Fifth Republic and the way Charles de Gaulle became president and lost his deputy seat, w