02 December 2020

Former French leader Valery Giscard d’Estaing dies aged 94

02 December 2020

Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the president of France from 1974 to 1981 who became a champion of European integration, has died at the age of 94, his office and the French presidency announced.

Mr Giscard d’Estaing had recently been taken to hospital in Tours, in central France. His office did not provide any further details.

Born in 1926, Mr Giscard d’Estaing served in the Free French army that helped liberate France during the Second World War.

Charles de Gaulle named him finance minister at age 36.

As president, he helped forge a single Europe with his close friend, German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.

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