Georges Pompidou

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Georges Pompidou
Pompidou in 1969
19th President of France
In office 20 June 1969 – 2 April 1974
Prime Minister	Jacques Chaban-Delmas Pierre Messmer
Preceded by	Charles de Gaulle
Succeeded by	Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
Prime Minister of France
In office 14 April 1962 – 10 July 1968
President	Charles de Gaulle
Preceded by	Michel Debré
Succeeded by	Maurice Couve de Murville
Member of the Constitutional Council
In office 5 March 1959 – 14 April 1962
Appointed by	Charles de Gaulle
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Bernard Chenot
Additional positions
(see § Offices and distinctions)
Personal details
Born	Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (1911-07-05)5 July 1911 Montboudif, France
Died	2 April 1974(1974-04-02) (aged 62) Paris, France
Resting place	Orvilliers Cemetery Orvilliers, France
Political party	Union of Democrats for the Republic (1968–1974)
Other political affiliations	Union for the New Republic (before 1968)
Spouse	Claude Cahour ​ (m. 1935)​
Children	Alain
Alma mater	École Normale Supérieure Sciences Po
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	France
Branch/service	French Army
Years of service	1940
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	141st Alpine Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	Second World War
Awards	Croix de Guerre

Georges Jean Raymond Pompidou (/ˈpɒmpɪduː/ POMP-id-oo, French: [ʒɔʁʒ(ə) pɔ̃pidu] ^ⓘ; 5 July 1911 – 2 April 1974) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1969 to his death in 1974. He was earlier the longest-ever Prime Minister of France, under President Charles de Gaulle, from 1962 to 1968.

In the context of the strong growth of the last years of the Trente Glorieuses, Pompidou continued De Gaulle's policy of modernisation, which was symbolised by the presidential use of the Concorde, the creation of large industrial groups and the launch of the high-speed train project (TGV). The government invested heavily in the automobile, agribusiness, steel, telecommunications, nuclear and aerospace sectors and also created the minimum wage (SMIC) and the Ministry of the Environment.

His foreign policy was pragmatic although in keeping with the Gaullist principle of French independence. It was marked by a warming of relations with Richard Nixon's United States, close relations with Leonid Brezhnev's Soviet Union, the launch of the snake in the tunnel and the relaunching of European construction by facilitating the United Kingdom's entry to the EEC in contrast to de Gaulle's opposition.

Pompidou died in office in 1974 of Waldenström's disease, a rare form of blood cancer. His presidency is generally held in high esteem by French political commentators.^{[by whom?]}

A man of letters, he belongs to a long line of French statesmen with an excellent writing style. His "Anthology of French Poetry" is still a reference and is part of the school curriculum. He was passionate about contemporary art, and his name remains known worldwide for the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou, which he initiated and was inaugurated in 1977; it subsequently spread the name with its branches in Metz (France), Málaga (Spain), Brussels (Belgium) and Shanghai (China). A Georges Pompidou Museum is also dedicated to him in his hometown.