Jacques Delors

His Excellency Jacques Delors
Delors in 1993
President of the European Commission
In office 7 January 1985 – 24 January 1995
Vice President	Frans Andriessen
Preceded by	Gaston Thorn
Succeeded by	Jacques Santer
Mayor of Clichy
In office 19 March 1983 – 19 December 1984
Preceded by	Gaston Roche
Succeeded by	Gilles Catoire [fr]
Minister of Finance
In office 22 May 1981 – 17 July 1984
Prime Minister	Pierre Mauroy
Preceded by	René Monory
Succeeded by	Pierre Bérégovoy
Member of the European Parliament
In office 1 July 1979 – 25 May 1981
Constituency	East France
Personal details
Born	Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (1925-07-20)20 July 1925 Paris, France
Died	27 December 2023(2023-12-27) (aged 98) Paris, France
Political party	Socialist
Spouse	Marie Lephaille ​ ​ (m. 1948; died 2020)​
Children	2, including Martine
Alma mater	University of Paris

Jacques Lucien Jean Delors (French pronunciation: [ʒak lysjɛ̃ ʒɑ̃ dəlɔʁ]; 20 July 1925 – 27 December 2023) was a French politician who served as the eighth president of the European Commission from 1985 to 1995. Delors played a key role in the creation of the single market, the euro and the modern European Union.

As president of the European Commission (EC), Delors was the most visible and influential leader in European affairs. He implemented policies that closely linked the member nations together and promoted the need for unity. He created a single market that made the free movement of persons, capital, goods, and services within the European Economic Community (EEC) possible. He also headed the so-called Delors Committee which proposed the monetary union to create the euro, a new single currency to replace individual national currencies. This was achieved by the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.

Delors was a member of the French Socialist Party. Before becoming president of the EC, he was France's finance minister from 1981 to 1984, and a member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1981.