Former French president Jacques Chirac, a centre-right career politician who served as head of state from 1995 to 2007, has died, his family told the press on Thursday. He was 86.
“President Jacques Chirac died this morning surrounded by his family, peacefully,” his son-in-law Frederic Salat-Baroux told news men.
Twice elected head of state in 1995 and 2002, his 12 years in the Elysee Palace made him France’s second longest-serving post-war president after his Socialist predecessor Francois Mitterrand.
On the international stage, Chirac will be best remembered for angering the United States with his public opposition to the 2003 war in Iraq. Read full article here.